When ‘Ali Khamenei’ Fears Women’s Voices More Than Poverty and Insecurity

Ali Khamenei’s fatwa regarding women’s voices in music suggests that he fears women’s voices more than poverty and insecurity in the country.

Ali Khamenei, by issuing a new fatwa, has announced that listening to songs performed with women’s voices, even if this voice is produced by artificial intelligence software, is “forbidden” for men; provided that they have “melodic” characteristics. This fatwa is indicative of the Islamic Republic’s traditional policies that go beyond art and are linked to the suppression of cultural and social freedoms.

The text of this fatwa states: “In cases of prohibition, there is no difference between whether the source of this sound production is a natural person or artificial intelligence.”

This stance demonstrates an approach that has been pursued since the Islamic Republic’s formation until now regarding music and art—a strict, traditional, and controlling policy against any form of cultural freedom, even when new technologies enter the field.

After the 1979 revolution, the Iranian government has repeatedly attempted to impose serious restrictions on music and singing, particularly for women. Now, with the emergence of new technologies, including the production of artificial voices by artificial intelligence, Ali Khamenei has maintained the same red lines and emphasized that there is no difference between “real voices” and “machine voices.”

This fatwa, in addition to reflecting the government’s traditional view of art, indicates the deep concern of the Islamic Republic about cultural and social changes resulting from new technologies; a concern that is particularly focused on the issue of “gender and music.”

The issuance of such fatwas occurs at a time when Iranian society is grappling with a series of serious crises. Rampant inflation, unemployment, insecurity, suppression of freedoms of expression, freedom of thought, and widespread economic hardships have made life difficult for millions of Iranians. In such an environment, the government’s focus on “the prohibition of women’s voices” or even “women’s voices produced by artificial intelligence” demonstrates how profound the gap is between the people’s concerns and the government’s priorities.

The reality is that Iran’s problems go beyond whether or not women’s voices are heard. Today’s Iran needs, more than anything else, answers to economic, social, and security crises, not the issuance of fatwas that only further restrict cultural freedoms.