Deeyah

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Deeyah bigraphy, stories - Norwegian English Urdu Pushto Singer-Songwriter

Deeyah : biography

7 August 1977 –

Deeyah ), born 7 August 1977 in Oslo, Norway, is a Norwegian music artist,

composer, record producer, filmmaker and human rights activist

of Punjabi/Pashtun descent. She is an outspoken supporter of women’s rights, freedom of expression and peace. She creates her film, music and arts productions through her social purpose company Fuuse encompassing Fuuse Mousiqi and Fuuse Films. Deeyah has produced music albums such as Nordic Woman, Iranian Woman and Echoes Of Indus. In collaboration with , she is the co-creator and co-producer of international compilation album Listen To The Banned which features banned and censored music artists from The Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Deeyah is the director and producer of documentary film Banaz A Love Story, a film about the 2006 London honour killing of Banaz Mahmod.

In 2011 she established AVA Projects a registered non profit public charity, working to reduce the marginalization of women and young people of South Asian and Middle Eastern descent. Deeyah is also the founder of digital media initiatives Sisterhood, Memini, and (HBVA).

Deeyah is the recipient of several awards for her work supporting freedom of expression, in 2012 she was awarded the by Norwegian PEN.

Filmmaker

Banaz: A Love Story

Deeyah has been active in raising awareness of honour killings for several years. Since early 2009 she has been directing and producing Banaz: A Love Story, a documentary film about honour killings. The film received its UK premiere at the Raindance Film Festival in London September 2012.

Activist

Sisterhood

Deeyah conceived of and founded Sisterhood in 2007.

Sisterhood provides an outlet of artistic expression for young aspiring Muslim female artists across creative disciplines. Deeyah’s goal with Sisterhood is to empower young Muslim women by giving them an outlet to express their creativity.

Sisterhood is also widely seen to be a network of support for young creative Muslim women in dealing with their challenges both culturally and artistically. Sisterhood is an ongoing initiative and is today an organic movement consisting of young Muslim women based around the world especially in Europe and USA.

Sisterhood projects

  • Sisterhood Online Mixtape (2008)

Memini

Deeyah founded Memini in early 2011, a global digital initiative to promote remembrance of victims of honour killings worldwide.

Memini was given a True Honour award by UK charity Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation along with several other UK campaigners.

AVA

Founded by Deeyah in 2011 , , is an arts and multimedia based educational non profit charity organisation dedicated to reducing the marginalization of women and young people particularly from the Greater Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent and its diaspora communities in Europe and the US by providing tools and avenues which encourage people to find their individual voices. The primary goal of AVA is to support and encourage voices from the margins while addressing the forms of oppression faced by these marginalized groups while also working towards the solutions needed.

Honour Based Violence Awareness (HBVA)

Launched in February 2012, Deeyah and Joanne Payton of Cardiff University founded (HBVA), an international multimedia digital resource centre working to advance understanding and awareness of Honour Killings and Honour Based Violence through research, training and information.

Other Activism

  • Deeyah is a vocal supporter of ICAHK (International Campaign Against Honour Killings).
  • Deeyah is a patron of Ashram women’s shelter in Birmingham UK.
  • Deeyah is a supporter of Freemuse’s appeal to Turkish Prime Minister standing in solidarity with Ferhat Tunç.
  • Deeyah is a supporter of the International Coalition for Women’s Rights, Manifesto of Liberation of Women in Iran.
  • Deeyah is a supporter of the "Iran Solidarity Movement".
  • Deeyah is a signatory and supporter of the One Law For All Campaign (No to faith-based arbitration! No to Sharia family law).
  • Deeyah is a supporter and signatory on the "Manifesto of the Third Camp Against US Militarism and Islamic Terrorism".
  • Deeyah is a participant and supporter of the Yeh Hum Naheen initiative.
  • Deeyah was the judge for Maryam Namazie’s One Law For All Art competition along with other judges Philosopher AC Grayling, Journalist and Columnist Polly Toynbee.