He was born on December 23, 1955 in Sori near Viransehir in the surroundings of the city of Urfa in Turkey. His father was a small farmer. Religiously influenced, his father did not want to send his son to public school. Finally the father yielded. Sivan finished his primary school education as the best pupil. Social hardship forced him to return tending sheep. Eventually, his mother succeeded in sending him to schooling in Urfa. At the age of 13 he worked in factories and restaurants in order to finance his education. He started studying geology and mathematics in Ankara. In the 1970s he was threatened by organs of the Turkish state. This was also the time of his first public concerts with halls gathering 30, 000 spectators even at that time of social unrest marked by military coups and rules. He was singing in Kurdish.

This was forbidden. Arrests and imprisonments became his lot. Sivan Perwer tried to emigrate to Sweden, but his attempt was vain. He finally came to Germany in 1976. He settled in Cologne; there, he got married and studied musical science. He continued singing and giving concerts. His son, Serxwebun, was born. In 1983, a new attempt to apply for political asylum was made in Sweden. The German government denied his former wife, Gulistan, the issue of the residence permit. Today Sivan Perwer is the best known Kurdish singer among old and new generations; well known in all parts of Kurdistan; esteemed and listened all over the world as a Cultural Ambassador of Kurdistan.

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