Saye Sky

Saye Sky is an Iranian rap artist and LGBTQ rights activist. As a lesbian she experienced first-hand the oppression and violence against the queer community in Iran, and started to write poetry and spoken word about women and queer rights at the age of 13. In 2009, she recorded and released her first single in Iran, Saye Yek Zane Irani (Shadow of an Iranian Woman). She was the first artist to sing about Iran’s LGBTQ community, their existence and their protracted struggle for freedom. She was consequently put at great risk for singing music which is forbidden for women in Iran, for being a lesbian, and for advocating for LGBTQ rights through her music. In 2010, she was forced to leave her home and seek asylum in Turkey, where she was granted refugee status, and then moved to Toronto in March 2011. She continues to write music and poetry, and to advocate for the rights of women, children, and the LGBTQ community in Iran.

She has interviewed with Toronto Star, Radio Zamaneh (Netherlands), Radio Koocheh (Sweden), Tempo Magazine (Turkey), Voice of America’s Persian channel, and BBC Persian. She has also performed live for several events and media outlets including Channel D in Turkey, Toronto Gay Pride 2011, and the International Center for Human Rights in Iran, Women’s Day event. She currently has written over 15 songs that she performs for Persian and English-speaking audiences, and will be releasing her first album in 2013.