“It is an honour to be here today opening this concert [..] inspired by the 10 Bahá'í women of Shiraz and dedicated to the people of Iran” said Member of the European Parliament Leopoldo López Gil in his opening address at an #OurStoryIsOne concert he hosted, together with the Baha’i International Community Brussels office. 

This concert was dedicated to the “10 Bahá'í women who, in 1983, gave their lives for their commitment to freedom of belief,” he added. It is part of the #OurStoryIsOne campaign, a global campaign which commemorates the execution of 10 Baha’i women 40 years ago in Shiraz, Iran, and the ongoing struggle of millions of Iranian women for gender equality and social justice. This campaign calls on all Iranians to see each other’s stories and well-being as interconnected. Rachel Bayani, representative of the Baha’i International Community, highlighted that “Our Story Is One means that each single human being is endowed with capacity and has an irreplaceable role to play [...] in the shaping of our future civilisation.”

The concert, which gathered around a hundred people—including European officials and policymakers, Iranian civil society, European human rights organisations and religious representatives—was performed by Irish singer-songwriter Luke Slott and Brazilian-American artist Jasmine Howard. 

The performance presented songs, poems, and stories of the 10 women and of heroic Iranian women and men who, throughout history, have stood up for human rights. These stories touched each and everyone’s heart that night.