March 2, 2021
  • English
  • Français
  • فارسی
  • عربى
NCRI Women Committee
  • Home
  • News
    • Women’s News
    • Articles
    • Statements
  • Publications
    • Monthlies
    • Documents
    • Reference Library
  • About Us
    • Women’s Committee of Iran NCRI
    • Gender Equality
    • Women’s Platform
  • Maryam Rajavi
    • Biography
    • Maryam Rajavi Speeches
    • Ten Point Plan for Iran
    • Ten Point Plan for Women
  • Vanguards
    • Fallen for Freedom
    • Heroines in Chain
    • Women of Iranian Resistance
    • Famous Women
    • Women in History
  • Events
    • IWD Conferences
    • IWD Speeches
    • Activities
    • Solidarity
  • Videos
  • Donate
  • Contact us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Women’s News
    • Articles
    • Statements
  • Publications
    • Monthlies
    • Documents
    • Reference Library
  • About Us
    • Women’s Committee of Iran NCRI
    • Gender Equality
    • Women’s Platform
  • Maryam Rajavi
    • Biography
    • Maryam Rajavi Speeches
    • Ten Point Plan for Iran
    • Ten Point Plan for Women
  • Vanguards
    • Fallen for Freedom
    • Heroines in Chain
    • Women of Iranian Resistance
    • Famous Women
    • Women in History
  • Events
    • IWD Conferences
    • IWD Speeches
    • Activities
    • Solidarity
  • Videos
  • Donate
  • Contact us
No Result
View All Result
NCRI Women Committee
No Result
View All Result
Home Famous Women
Qamar-ol-Moluk Vaziri, First Iranian Woman Who Sang on Stage

Qamar-ol-Moluk Vaziri , First Iranian Woman Who Sang on Stage

June 9, 2020
in Famous Women
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Qamar-ol-Moluk Vaziri (born Qamar Khanum Seyed Hosayn Khan in 1905 in Tehran) was the first Iranian female singer to record her songs and to appear on public stage without using hijab.  She was the first and is one of the the most famous female singers singing Iranian traditional vocals. She is known as the Queen of Persian music.

Qamar’s father died before her birth, and her mother died when she was only 18. Her grandmother, Khairulensa (Eftekhar al-Zakrin), was the head of the Nasreddin Shah Qajar private gospel ceremonies. Her grandmother took her to the gospel singings. During these gospel singings, Qamar would repeat the words, and when alone, she would recite them.

From the very early years, Qamar-ol-Moluk Vaziri became interested in singing. When she was a little older, she asked her grandmother to take her to a singing teacher, so she could practice singing. Her grandmother however objected as it was culturally unacceptable for the female to sing.

Nevertheless, Qamar insisted and as a result, her grandmother hired a teacher to come to their house for teaching her to sing. Shortly after, the grandmother and then the teacher passed away and Qamar once again became alone.

But it was not too long later when Master Bahraini took over her care, invited her to live with his family and began her singing training. During her stay with Master Bahraini, Qamar became acquainted with other musicians of the time, including Master Lachini. Master Lachini helped Qamar in performing several songs that were recorded in Polyphone studio.

Qamar was 16 years old when she met Master Morteza Neidavoud who was at the time the most well-known tar player. Master Neidavoud remembers the time:

“It was in 1921 when during a night group gathering, everyone asked a fifteen, sixteen-year-old girl to sing a song … When she started singing, I realized I had found a very powerful and unbelievable voice. I asked the host for a music instrument and began playing and she sang with me. I told her, `you have a great voice; all you need is to learn Iranian music and gave her my music class address.’ She welcomed my offer and showed great excitement and enthusiasm to learn music and enhance her singing.’’

Qamar’s efforts and hard work paid off and her first concert was held in 1924 at the Grand Hotel in Tehran when she was 19-years-old. Qamar says of the experience: “That night was my most memorable night I will never forget. When I entered the hall, it was full of people. I went on stage and was given a large bouquet of flowers and everyone was clapping. This welcome experience gave me a lot of self-confidence. After the concert, I was called to the police station and I was told that I can no longer appear on stage without a veil. But I did not listen; I went on stage many more times without covering my hair and sang.”

At about the same time, Ali Vakili, the founder of Sepah Cinema in Tehran, arranged a six-day concert for her, which lasted for six weeks, due to unprecedented public appearances. Tickets for the concert reached 50 Iranian toumans, which at the time was about twice the monthly salary of a high-ranking government employee. And even during the last nights, many of those who were unable to get a ticket, listened to her while standing on their feet during the entire performance.

At the concerts and during her performance, the audience would get so excited and jubilant that they would throw anything of value, money, gold, ring, necklace, …, they were carrying, at her on the stage. Even the spectator who were far away from the stage would do the same. Qamar spent all these gifts on poor people. She bought small houses to shelter the homeless; she paid their debts, provided dowry to poor girls, and bought beds for hospitals.

Qamar continued to sing until the establishment of the radio (in 1940), and from that year her unparalleled voice, along with santour by Habib Samaya, tar by Morteza Neidavoud, and sometimes violin by Abol-Hassan Saba, was broadcast by the radio, allowing many more people to enthusiastically enjoy her beautiful voice.

Qamar’s voice was at its peak until 1953 when she was the sole female singer. But later she had a stroke that ended her singing career. She became an ill house woman and she was gradually forgotten.

Qamar died on August 6, 1959, at the age 54. Some claim she was poor when she died; other records indicate she was receiving a monthly salary of 800 Iranian toumans, which was equivalent to the salary of a government official at the time.

After Qamar’s corpse went through ritual washing and preparation, it was taken to a local mosque on Friday morning to perform religious ceremonies and to call on the people to come say farewell to her, but the mosque custodians refused to accept the corpse of the famous female singer as an overnight guest and she was buried alone.

Qamar’s legacy includes over 200 memorable songs, the first of which was the song Republican by Aref Qazvini.

ShareTweetPinShare
Previous Post

Institutionalized Misogyny in the laws of the mullahs’ regime ruling Iran

Next Post

Private-Sector Nurses, Defrauded Clients, Literacy Movement Teachers Protest

Related Posts

Forough Farrokhzad, a poet for all ages
Famous Women

Forough Farrokhzad, a poet for all ages

February 12, 2021
Simin Behbahani Becomes Eternal
Famous Women

Simin Behbahani Becomes Eternal

June 18, 2020
Alenoush Terian – First astrophysics professor in Iran
Famous Women

Alenoush Terian – First astrophysics professor in Iran

June 16, 2020

Discussion about this post

Stay With Us

Documents

For rural women of Iran life means suffering and working as slaves

For rural women of Iran life means suffering and working as slaves

October 14, 2020
Bill to Protect Children and Adolescents Fails to Protect Girls

Bill to Protect Children and Adolescents Fails to Protect Girls

October 7, 2020
List of women killed during Iran protests in November 2019

List of women killed during Iran protests in November 2019

September 21, 2020
A network of 27 state agencies suppresses Iranian women by enforcing the mandatory Hijab

A network of 27 state agencies suppresses Iranian women by enforcing the mandatory Hijab

July 9, 2020

Monthlies

Iran’s clerical regime ramps up violence against women in prisons
Monthlies

Monthly Report January 2021 – One million working Iranian women have lost their jobs

February 3, 2021
Iran’s clerical regime ramps up violence against women in prisons
Monthlies

Monthly Report December 2020: Ramping up violence against women in prisons

January 4, 2021
Fundamental rights of female political prisoners in Iran violated
Monthlies

Monthly Report October 2020: Rights of female political prisoners in Iran violated

November 4, 2020
Monthly Report September 2020: Hijab Campaigns seek widespread arrests
Monthlies

Monthly Report September 2020: Hijab Campaigns seek widespread arrests

October 4, 2020

Articles

Rising Rate of Suicide Among Iranian Women - Ebtekar: Violence Rate is Not High!

Rising Rate of Suicide Among Iranian Women – Ebtekar: Violence Rate is Not High!

February 26, 2021

22 cities see protests by welfare recipients and pensioners in Iran

22 cities see protests by welfare recipients and pensioners in Iran

February 15, 2021

Iranian women defy four decades of religious dictatorship

Iranian women defy four decades of religious dictatorship

February 10, 2021

women's role in 1979 Revolution

1979 Revolution: Iranian women take a stride forward

February 9, 2021

IWD Speeches

Rashida Manjoo, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
IWD Speeches

Working towards a democratic and peaceful world – Rashida Manjoo

July 17, 2019
Brave women of Iran stood up to a misogynous regime – Sarvnaz Chitsaz
IWD Speeches

Brave women of Iran stood up to a misogynous regime – Sarvnaz Chitsaz

April 14, 2018
Süssmuth: Women must stick together in their fight for a better world
IWD Speeches

Süssmuth: Women must stick together in their fight for a better world

April 14, 2018
Female political prisoners were raped in the 1980s – Rashida Manjoo
IWD Speeches

Female political prisoners were raped in the 1980s – Rashida Manjoo

April 14, 2018

Videos

Iran: One year after the uprising in November 2019
NCRI Women's Committee Presentations

Iran: One year after the uprising in November 2019

November 14, 2020
  • Women’s News
  • Articles
  • Statements
  • Monthlies
  • Documents
  • Donate
  • Contact us

The copyright of all the material published on this website has been registered under © 2016 the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. To obtain permission to copy, redistribute or publish the material published on this website, you should write to the NCRI Women’s Committee. Please include the link of the original article on our website, women.ncr-iran.org.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Women’s News
    • Articles
    • Statements
  • Publications
    • Monthlies
    • Documents
    • Reference Library
  • About Us
    • Women’s Committee of Iran NCRI
    • Gender Equality
    • Women’s Platform
  • Maryam Rajavi
    • Biography
    • Maryam Rajavi Speeches
    • Ten Point Plan for Iran
    • Ten Point Plan for Women
  • Vanguards
    • Fallen for Freedom
    • Heroines in Chain
    • Women of Iranian Resistance
    • Famous Women
    • Women in History
  • Events
    • IWD Conferences
    • IWD Speeches
    • Activities
    • Solidarity
  • Videos
  • Donate
  • Contact us
  • English
  • Français
  • فارسی
  • عربى

The copyright of all the material published on this website has been registered under © 2016 the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. To obtain permission to copy, redistribute or publish the material published on this website, you should write to the NCRI Women’s Committee. Please include the link of the original article on our website, women.ncr-iran.org.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist