ARTIST BIO:
Deeyah, a critically acclaimed music producer and prize winning human rights activist, is known for her outspoken support of women's rights, freedom of expression and peace.
Born in Norway to immigrant parents of Pashtun and Punjabi descent, she was steeped in the rich culture and arts of her parents' homelands. Classically trained in music, she started her career as a singer in early childhood, spending most of her life working within world music genres as well as spending some years in pop music. Eventually, she stopped performing completely and turned her focus to producing and composing music instead. She now produces projects that combine her passion for art and activism as she continues to broaden her creative expression into film-making and digital media initiatives, driven by a commitment to human rights and social activism.
In 2007 she founded Sisterhood, an ongoing project designed to empower young Muslim women by encouraging artistic expression across creative disciplines.
In 2010, Deeyah created FUUSE media, which encompasses Fuuse Mousiqi and Fuuse Films. She also co-produced the critically acclaimed Listen To The Banned album with the program manager of Freemuse, Ole Reitov. The CD features artists from Asia, Africa and the Middle East who have experienced persecution, censorship or imprisonment for their artistic expression.
In 2011 she produced Nordic Woman, the first release in her WOMAN album series. WOMAN celebrates women's voices within traditional music from around the world, while drawing attention to women's rights issues in the region. She also founded and launched Memini.co, an online commemorative site, to remember the victims of honour killings worldwide.
She is currently producing her first documentary through Fuuse Films, Finding Banaz, which addresses the phenomenon of honour killings within immigrant communities in Europe through the story of a young British Kurdish woman who was murdered by her family in London in 2006.
Deeyah's human rights work includes her establishment of AVA, a non- profit public charity. Ava means Voice in Farsi. AVA provides avenues for women and young people to find their voices, encouraging participation within the greater human conversation. By building awareness, education, research, and advocacy AVA engages the world's women and young people as a force for change. The initial emphasis is on people of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent.
Continuing her commitment to the issue of honour killings and honour-based violence, Deeyah co-founded HBVA (Honour Based Violence Awareness network) with Joanne Payton in 2012. HBVA is an international digital resource centre working to advance understanding of Honour Killings and Honour Based Violence through research, documentation and information for professionals, teachers, health workers, social services, police, politicians, and others who may encounter individuals at risk.
Deeyah's life and work is born of being a child of several cultures, being an international musical presence and experiencing the divisions and difficulties within her own life, her own family and her own career. Her ever-growing belief that artistic expression is an essential language for being of service towards positive change to create a better world is a personal understanding and commitment.
www.deeyah.com
