Googoosh goes silent

Once silenced by the Islamic Republic, Googoosh now voluntarily withholds her voice in solidarity. The 75-year-old Iranian megastar’s refusal to sing is not a sign of hesitation but a conscious political gesture—one that draws its force from her singular position in Iran’s cultural history. Many see this refusal as a reclamation of her agency; with Iran again roiled by mass mobilisation and protest, her silence resonates as loudly as her songs once did.