Sahar Afarin is an up-and-coming star. She had her national break-through in 2006 when she recieved the honourary titles 'Artist of Radio Television Afghanistan' and 'Golden Star of National TV'.
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In this interview the 21-year-old singer explains how she has been discouraged from music due to pressure from many sides.
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Video interview duration: 2:51 minutes.
The interview was prepared and edited by Samay Hamed in Kabul in Afghanistan in 2006-2008. Post-editing by Mik Aidt/Freemuse. Signature music: Safdar Tawakoli.
Transcription of the video interview
“I am Sahar Afarin – the Artist of Afghanistan Radio & TV. I newly started singing, but actually I have been interested in music since childhood. My father has encouraged me a lot.
Some of my family members didn't want me to be a singer because of my young age and (because they thought) that I was not old enough to start with music. They said I should just concentrate on my school lessons. So the reason that my family was against itwas that I should finish the education first, and then I could do music.
After I had had my debut performance on Afghanistan's national tv I generally received very positive feedback, but some people hindered me... some of our relatives... because some of the people don't like music so much. Therefore they hindered me and asked me not to continue with music because nobody would be appreciating it.
The situation is not good for me here, because when I am walking in the streets I am being ridiculed by the people who know me – and being disturbed by them. Therefore I always have to be accompanied by my father, and I am hiding myself, and masking myself.
Because we have such a closed community, I have to cover my face with a veil and only my eyes are visible. But even so, the people who recognise me disturb me and say: "There is the girl who is singing on national tv!" Besides that, after my first concert on national tv when I was going to school my classmates asked me: 'How did you become a singer?' 'Who did encourage you?' 'Did you have a family or not?' They thought I don't have a family.
A few of my classmates encouraged me to continue, but mostly they hindered me and said: 'being a musician is not good!' And they were asking the teacher about music, and the teacher was replying: 'Music is very bad! ...because it is not good for a woman that her voice is heard by the men because we are Muslim, and a man should not hear the voice of a woman!'
I have been listening to them, but I know that music is good and that the path that I am following is the proper way, and I never think that I am doing a bad job.”
This interview is a part of the Freemuse Special Report, 'The cage is singing'
Freemuse Special Report, 'The cage is singing', is an in-depth report with ten video interviews and a book about music censorship in Afghanistan - past and present
Video interview with the head of Afghanistan's Music Union, who is a famous folk singer. He was arrested once, and imprisoned and tortured another time, because of two songs
Video interview with the lead singer in Kamran Music Group. He speaks about his experiences with music prohibition during the Taliban period in 1996-2001
Video interview with Afghanistan's star singer who gives examples of songs which were censored in the period of communist parties in Afghanistan, starting from 1979
Video interview with a Pashto folk singer and board member of Afghanistan Music Union. He speaks about the problems which a praisal singer faces when a regime changes
Video interview with one of the singers who were forced to sing praisal songs for the Taliban regime. He speaks about his problems with music censorship in this period
Video interview with a Hazara folk singer who explains about his problems as a musician during the Mujahidin period where power in the capital of Afghanistan was fragmented
