Gola Pioneers ‘CHANGE’ For Women’s Rights In Iran With Liberating Farsi Album

International entertainer and women’s rights activist, Gola, makes a bold statement directly to Iranian women and men with her new album ‘CHANGE’ that speaks to the fight for gender equality in spite of the nation’s oppressive compulsory hijab mandates and human rights violations.

LONDON, UK (September 23, 2022) - Iranian entertainer and women’s rights activist Golazine, internationally known as Gola, releases a revolutionary feminist project on September 23rd titled ‘CHANGE.’ Select tracks from the project were previously released domestically in Iran last year, and the full album is now making its way overseas to listeners across the globe. Known by Iranians as the Lioness of Iran, Gola irrefutably lives up to her reputation as she delivers a divine manifestation of bravery, advocacy, and justice with ‘CHANGE.’ Gola is simultaneously beloved by the Iranian people and outcast by the government, having been exiled from the country for over a decade, as she continues making radical statements advocating for gender equality that renounce the Iranian governments’ oppressive laws and hellish punishments inflicted upon Iranian women ready for the opportunity to experience true autonomy and the ability to forge their own destinies.

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As a woman, for instance, working as a solo singer in Iran is unheard of as a result of such oppressive systems; women are prohibited from singing solo in public and are limited in their freedom to use their voices as to prevent immoral sensual arousal with unrelated men. Despite all of this, she still finds herself at the forefront of this movement for change as she continuously explores new ways to spread her message to both the Iranian people and the world. Gola is among the first Iranian women to professionally sing in Farsi and English, as well as one of the most influential Iranian women to have been born and raised in Iran, and have a pop English track in the UK Club chart. Gola and her work have caught the attention of major media outlets such as **The Times and The Sunday Times UK**, **TMRW Magazine**, and **Hunger Magazine**, while she continues releasing projects that amplify her mission to spread empowerment, peace, and love.

The first track people were introduced to from ‘CHANGE’ was “Haghame,” meaning ‘It Is My Right,’ with the self-taped and self-directed video having gone viral on the National Day of Hijab in Iran and garnering over 630K views on Instagram in less than 3 days while reaching millions of Iranians across social platforms and private messaging; this led fans to see Gola as the face of the “Hijab No Hijab” campaign. ‘CHANGE,’ at its core, is a historic work detailing the experience of a woman who woke up to her oppression, stood fearlessly in the face of danger, and encouraged other women to reclaim their voices as she did hers.

‘CHANGE’ illuminates the struggle of the Iranian people with clarity, truth, and passion. In a society where those that suffer the most are systemically silenced, Gola takes it upon herself to amplify the horrific tragedies inflicted upon countless Iranian families in hopes of catalyzing social reform. The album is not only a beacon of hope for the future of Iranian and Middle Eastern women, but also immortalizes the forced sacrifices and premature deaths endured by women like Mahsa Amini who was recently beaten to death by the morality police in Iran because of a couple strands of her hair falling outside of her scarf.

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Gola recounts her lived experience in Iran throughout the album and offers a poignant, raw female perspective on the oppressive nature of the Iranian regime. The introductory track, “Khodam Boodam Oonja (I was there),” speaks to the poverty, gender inequality, child marriage, and the blanket of desperation cast over the Iranian people as witnessed from the songstress while growing up. Gola follows suit with “Jorme Man (My Crime),” a direct commentary on women’s inequality and the unjust treatment of Iranian women; this track explores the painful experience of being treated and punished as a criminal for simply existing in a female body. “Nashegi (Euphoria)” was written after countless peaceful protests turned deadly from 2020-2022. Referred to as the Uprising Of The Thirsty, the protests centered around ongoing water shortages and blackouts of electricity all over Iran. Gola directly addresses the Iranian dictator and speaks of his appetite for killing people in order to maintain power. “Ma Ziadim (We Are Many)” commemorates the nationwide tragedies of Bloody November that began on November 15th 2019 when 21 cities in Iran engaged in peaceful protests initially caused by a 50%–200% increase in fuel prices and led to calls for the overthrow of the government and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Videos of the protest circulated online, eventually becoming the most violent and severe anti-government unrest since the rise of Iran's Islamic Republic in 1979. To block the sharing of information regarding the protests and the deaths of hundreds of protesters on social media platforms, the government shut down the Internet nationwide resulting in a near-total internet blackout of around six days. Approximately 1,500 people were killed, and their families threatened by the government to withhold information from the media, as well as their peers, regarding loved ones that were lost to the government’s murderous abuse of power.

It is clear that ‘CHANGE’ embodies a sentiment that goes leaps and bounds beyond the music; this album is a historic demand for change that is invigorated by the collective resilience of a people hungry for justice and reformation. Gola collaborated with producer and co-writer Schubert Avakian who helped bring her vision to life while she detailed her most intimate memories of growing up in Iran and intertwined them with recent and presently occurring historical moments. This album is written for those fighting to reclaim their voice, for those dreaming of a future characterized by equality and justice, and for those who need reassurance that they are not alone in the fight for freedom. While the album resembles the harrowing pages of a diary telling truths from Iranian people, it also serves as a message in a bottle making its way to shores around the world, giving a profoundly emotional recount of life under the oppressive Iranian government. Gola’s message is simple: to use her voice to speak for those that are silenced in effort to usher in an era of peace, gender equality, and reparations for those that have suffered at the hands of the Iranian Regime.

More about Gola:

Golazin, known internationally as Gola, is an Iranian singer, musician, actress and women’s rights activist. Her mother was an entrepreneur who started a fashion and sewing business when she was in her late teens to empower women. Therefore, Gola grew up in a household that encouraged girls to exercise their power and to empower others. It was in this environment that Gola found her purpose. Growing up, stage performance and music was always present. However, in her religious hometown of Isfahan, Western music had to be smuggled. Even though she spoke very little English, soon Gola was singing along to all the songs on cassette tapes her older brothers and sisters collected. Her passion and talents for music only grew stronger. In grade school, she became a key singer in her school’s choir, competing with other schools. The choir eventually became one of Iran’s best primary school choirs. Meanwhile, Gola started attending an acting school which led her to appear in several theaters in Isfahan and Tehran. Gaining recognition after a while led her to be invited to be one of the judges in the International Film Festival for Children and Youth held in Isfahan.

Gola’s interests for the performing arts soon led her out of Iran. After completing her studies at Sooreh University — famously known as “Iranian CalArts” — she moved to London, where she thrived. Back in Iran, she was part of the first female pop band, Orkideh. They consistently toured, sold out shows in Iran, and Gola received awards and recognition. Yet, female artists were still prohibited from recording their own music. Now in London unconfined by Iran’s views of women in the society, Gola was able to pursue her passions for performance, acting and Music, collaborating with other artists, such as the Iranian Rapper Tohi. Their two records, “Roya” and “Ta Azam Door Shodi,” became big hits in Iran. Gola also collaborated with the singer-songwriter Idan Raichel on Gola’s single “Khoda Danad”, and later joined him on his world tour for performances in London and Paris.

In 2011 Gola acted in a few plays in the Independent Iranian Theatre Festival in London and was nominated for Best Actress. Gola then appeared as the lead actor in a 35mm short “Tehran 1998” which was shot in London. After appearing in the press and landing an interview with “The World Tonight” on BBC4 Radio, Gola seized this momentum, sensing it was finally her moment to shine in the music world on her own. She was already recording solo records, including “Iranam” for the Iran National Team during the World Cup. Recognized as one of the best World Cup songs, it was still prohibited from becoming the official national song in Iran because it was performed by a woman.

Finally, following years of recording music in her native tongue Farsi, Gola released her first official English record “The Line” exclusively on I-D Magazine in 2018. Speaking on why she wrote “The Line” Gola said that the song is about change: “I strongly believe that we, the women, are moving forward in an unstoppable way. We are getting stronger, from Saudi Arabia to Iran, we are finally finding our voice. No one should tell us what to wear, what to say or what to do. We are individuals and deserve respect.”

“The Line” was Gola’s first collaboration with pop songwriter Melanie Fontana and the British producer Cash of the band Cash+David. After “The Line'' premiered on FUTURE SOUNDS on Radio 1, the remix released in 2019, reached the Top 20 Club chart. Following the success, Beyonce and Gucci invited her to be featured in the first edition of “Chime For Change” magazine. Launched in February 2019, the “Chime for Change’’ is a “global campaign to convene, unite and strengthen the voices speaking out for girls and women around the world...” She followed “The Line” with her second single, “Now You Know” released in 2019. Co-written with Melanie Fontana, “Now You Know” was featured on Record Of The Day, and like most of Gola’s work, it’s a record about empowerment: “This song is about my life and the moment when I finally realised that I do not need anyone or any authority to govern my own life.”

In 2022 and beyond, Gola continues to break barriers and empower girls. Her music and videos have garnered millions of listens and views on streaming platforms like YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, Radio Javan and others. She’s been featured in The London Times, Haaretz, Hunger Magazine, I-D, Vice, and on Iranian radio and television such as BBC Persia, VOA Persia, and MBC Persia.

Over the last year, Gola has released many singles among Farsi speakers. Her new protest album “Change” bears the scars of her childhood growing up in Iran, It’s both a songbook of suffering and an emotional call for freedom. Gola’s latest self-taped and self directed one take video of her song “Haghame” went viral on the national day of Hijab in Iran, she became the face of “Hijab No Hijab” campaign. Her video received more than half a million views on her instagram page in less than three days. Gola continues to spread her message of empowerment, peace and love through her music, performances, and acting work.

Press contact:

Liam Grocki | liam@evergreenent.com