First woman to win Afghan TV show to fight music with Taliban

The first woman to win the Afghan version of American Idol said that she would fight the Taliban with her music, embracing a symbolic victory while her country is facing an uncertain future.

Zahra Elham won the 14th edition of Afghan Star last week, after thirteen years in a row in the popular television singing competition.

Elham, a member of the Hazara ethnic minority of Afghanistan, delighted the audience with his high-pitched, hoarse sound. voice, performing Persian folk music and Hazara with loose and colorful Afghan dresses and heels

The result made headlines at a time when many women in this deeply patriarchal country fear their rights hard acquired are threatened by Washington, seeking a way out of the war and talking to the Taliban.

Elham, who spoke with AFP in an interview with the private television channel Tolo, which produces Afghan Star, was caught off guard by his new glory. han, a week later – but determined to use it to inspire other girls.

"I was very proud of myself but at the same time shocked to be the first woman to win the contest," said the young woman in her early twenties said, her hair elegantly covered with 39, an olive green scarf, visibly always uncomfortable with a camera.

Zahra Elham holds the trophy after winning the final contest of the "Afghan Star" musical contest in Kabul. (AFP)

Nobody sings in her family, she said. She was inspired by the competition after watching idol videos on YouTube, like Aryana Sayeed, an Afghan pop singer and social media star often compared to Kim Kardashian – a characterization that, in conservative Afghanistan, is bold and deeply political.

If, like Sayeed, she is now a role model for young Afghan women, Elham's answer underscores the importance of her new platform in a country where women are largely absent from public spaces .

"Yes, my voice is important to women.

" Other girls will have courage and sing, as if I followed Aryana Sayeed … when I saw a girl like Aryana Sayeed, I thought to myself: "If she can, she can also I. She has two hands and two legs, like me. "

" Make my future brilliant "

Despite his pbadion, Elham, also a fan of Justin Bieber and Maher Zain, says that she does not intend to make

But if the Taliban withdrew "I am going to fight with my music because I want to make my life music and singing," she said.

The Taliban used their strict interpretation of Islam to ban music and force women to be taken in. Closed doors and bakas under their austere regime in Afghanistan from 1996 to their ouster in 2001.

Since then, they have led an uprising of more and more bloody against the Afghan government and US-led international troops.

With the progress of the United States, concerns are strong in Kabul about the possibility of Washington rushing out, paving the way for the return of Taliban at a semblance of he power in Afghanistan

Young women, aware of how their gender was repressed under the Taliban regime – and still face severe restrictions in Afghanistan today – are among the most vocal in their lives. Warn that they will not compromise their rights if the insurgents come back.

For now, however, Elham says her victory is a matter of pride – one Finally, she remains focused on her music and plans to learn the guitar and create more video clips. herself playing.

"I see my future in music and I can make my future bright by singing," she says. 19659004] (With the exception of the title, this story was not changed by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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