In the years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Homeyra faced persecution by the new authorities. Summoned to the courts of the Islamic Revolution, she was subjected to harassment and humiliation. The new cultural policies banned women from singing publicly, effectively silencing her career in Iran.
In 1982, with her two-year-old daughter Yasaman, Homeyra left Iran. Her escape was perilous: she first went to Afghanistan, then Pakistan, before eventually finding temporary refuge in Spain and Costa Rica. Her time in Costa Rica was marked by profound loneliness and depression. Separated from her husband, who had gone directly to the United States without her, she endured both emotional and financial hardship. At one point, she underwent psychiatric treatment for severe depression, a period she has described as among the darkest in her life.
Eventually, she relocated to California, where a large Iranian diaspora community had formed. With the support of expatriate musicians like Ahmad Massoud, she resumed her artistic activities. California became her new base, and from there she began performing for the global Iranian community, keeping alive the memory of pre-revolutionary Iranian music while also creating new works that reflected her experiences of exile.
Health Struggles and Resilience
In addition to the emotional toll of exile, Homeyra also endured serious health challenges. She underwent heart and brain surgery in the United States, operations that could have ended her career. Remarkably, she recovered, attributing her survival and renewed strength to her faith in God. Her brush with mortality deepened her spiritual outlook, which is often reflected in the mystical themes of her later songs and speeches.
