"I, Parastoo, a young girl who wishes to sing for a people she loves. It's a right I couldn't give up: to sing for this land I love passionately, here, at this symbolic spot in our beloved Iran, where our history and legends intersect. Listen to my voice in this imaginary concert and imagine this beautiful country..."

At 9 pm local time on Wednesday, December 11, Iranian underground singer Parastoo Ahmadi launched her "imaginary" concert, without an audience, live-streamed on her YouTube channel, a site blocked in Iran like all other social media, but accessible via software to bypass the blocks. Her concert took place in a caravanserai in an undisclosed location in Iran. The 27-year-old singer, accompanied by three musicians, wore her long hair loose over her shoulders. She wore a black dress revealing her shoulders and arms, and around her neck, a necklace in the shape of a map of Iran.

For 27 minutes, Paratsoo Ahmadi masterfully strung together folk tunes, a revolutionary song and a few Persian compositions by her band. No detail, from lighting and staging to sound and videography, had been left to chance. The young woman sang with a disconcerting ease, as if this concert were an everyday occurrence. In Iran, however, solo singing by women is forbidden, although some dare to perform on stage at "underground" events.

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