Hozan Canê (born Saide Inac in 1971) is a contemporary German- Kurdish singer, who is famous for her contributions to

Kurdish music Kurdish music (, or ''مۆسیقای کوردی'') refers to music performed in the Kurdish languages and Zaza-Gorani languages. The earliest study of Kurdish music was initiated by the renowned Armenian priest and composer Komitas in 1903, wh ...

Life

She was born in the region of Karayazı in

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...

province,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. After elementary school, she moved to

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

and

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

to continue her studies. Then she attended ASM and ''Arif Sag'' music schools and studied singing under the supervision of Ferqîn Şiyar and Kazim Bora for three years. Since childhood, Canê listened to music programs broadcast by Kurdish radio in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

, Armenia and was influenced by renowned singers such as Ayşe Şan and Meryem Xan. During the 1980s and 1990s, Kurdish culture was repressed in Turkey. Canê was arrested, imprisoned and tortured many times by the Turkish police. She was arrested in a concert in Van in 1991 and imprisoned for nine months. She was again assaulted and shot three times by unknown gunmen after attending a concert for the Democracy Party. After these incidents, she fled Turkey and sought refuge in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

where she has worked with ''Akademiya Cand û Hunera Kurdî'' (Academy of Kurdish Culture and Arts) and released several albums. In 2017, Canê appeared in a video criticising the imprisonment of Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş by the Turkish government. She stated that "We condemn the mentality that calls the will of 6 million people 'terrorist'". In 2018, Canê was campaigning for the HDP party in Edirne province, near to where HDP leader Selahattin Demirtaş was imprisoned. She was arrested on 22 of June 2018 on terrorism charges, being accused of membership of the PKK Kurdish militia. A Twitter post she had made about her film ''The 74th Genocide in Sinjar'' which she directed and acted in was also suggested to be terrorism propaganda. The film is about the genocide of

Yazidis Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish languages, Kurdish-speaking Endogamy, endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The major ...

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

in Iraq's Shingal region. In the tweet she is seen next to Kurdish fighters. On 14 November 2018 she was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison. She was convicted of 'membership of a terrorist organisation' but acquitted on other charges of sedition and insulting

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

, the founder of modern Turkey. She was detained in the women's prison in Istanbul's Bakirköy district. She was released from prison on the 30 September 2020, but not allowed to exit Turkey. Her daughter Gönül Örs is also accused of terrorism and in Turkey. On 18 Oct 2021 a court in Edirne sentenced Canê to three years, one month and 15 days in prison for allegedly supporting the PKK. Content on her Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as her music videos has considered among the reasons for this sentence by the Turkish court. In March of 2023, Canê was a keynote speaker at the 67th

Commission on the Status of Women The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, principal organs of the United Nations. CSW has bee ...

Discography

Albums

#''Rê Waye, lê lê lê Dayê'', Ataman Music #''Hozanê Kurdî'' #''Eşqa Welat'', Kom Muzîk, Germany, 2000. #''Wezîrê Min'', D&D Sound Production GbR. #''Dîlana Dila'', Mîr Muzîk, 2005. #''Vegere'', Kom Muzîk and Play Sound, France, 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cane, Hozan Kurdish women singers Living people 1971 births Date of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Turkish women singers German people of Kurdish descent