Key Points
- • Afghanistan’s leading female artist was among the thousands of evacuees after Taliban took control of Kabul
- • Aryana Sayeed says she’s doing her part to keep her country’s music alive
- • Australian diaspora community investing into more artists to keep Afghanistan’s culture and music alive abroad
She’s a well-known household name who has come a long way to being recognised as one of the country’s leading artists.
“It hasn’t been easy, it was harder at the beginning because it was new to me….but one thing about me is I’m a strong headed person, I do what I want to do no matter what people tell me,” Sayeed said.
Having moved to the UK at the age of eight with her family, Sayeed grew up in a western society, away from the cultural traditions in Afghanistan.
But even there she faced challenges pursing her dream of becoming a singer where entertainment was still seen as taboo by those around her.
“At the age of thirteen I had made my mind I wanted to become a singer, unfortunately at that time my family didn’t let me to pursue singing,” Sayeed said.
“It’s always been very very tough, because you know how it is in our culture, it’s not just the Taliban, it’s not just the mullahs, it’s also our people who are still very behind when it comes to this things.”
As the years went on, Sayeed’s family became more accustomed to the European way of thinking, eventually giving her the green light to pursue her dreams.
Her debut song was with a Pakistani guitarist which became a hit in 2009, and from there her career took off.
A journey that eventually landed her back in Afghanistan, when she was invited to perform on one of the country’s prominent national television in 2011.
“I was worried about going back, I didn’t know what to expect, I didn’t know what Afghanistan was like, but then I decided to go…I performed on stage and I made such a beautiful connection with Afghanistan and our people,” Sayeed recalled fondly.
Her deep connection then kept taking her back to her home country for years that followed.
Credit: Supplied
The arts and entertainment industry in particular was picking up pace, with millions of citizens tuning into TV shows and more.
Among many, thousands lined up to take part in a popular singing contested called ‘Sitare Afghan’ or ‘Afghan Star’.
The contest began in 2005, drawing emerging artists from across the country, but only a few girls had the courage to fight against social barriers embedded in Afghanistan’s patriarchal society.
This however changed when women judges including Sayeed joined the show, encouraging more girls to follow their music aspirations.
“When I got to Afghanistan, when I started there, the number of girls taking part increased, the number of women in the audience suddenly increased, and you could see more women than men in the audience, and that was beautiful, “ Sayeed said.
But Sayeed’s bold personality from singing, dancing, speeches to clothing choices also attracted critics of sorts.
“I was trying to show a very brave face to the world, but behind the scenes there was a lot going on,” she said.
“Like cars with bombs following me to kill me, there was Taliban giving me threats…so there was so much going on behind the scenes that people don’t know that I didn’t show.”
But behind a brave face, Sayeed was on a mission to break those social norms to create space for the girls and women in Afghanistan.
“I thought to myself this is a huge platform where I have the opportunity to change certain things, and one of my priorities was women’s rights,” Sayeed said.
“For as long as I can remember, the women of Afghanistan haven’t had their own rights and voices, and this motivates me to take my work seriously, because I know it’s not just about me.”
“I feel responsible as a human, as an Afghan woman to also do something for humanity.”
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“I’ve had the love and support of majority of our people in Afghanistan, and that helped me carry on with what I was doing, if they didn’t support me it would’ve been completely impossible,” Sayeed said.
But in 2021, that all changed when the Taliban took control of the country, changing the lives of millions and revoking decades of hard work.
“We came so far with so many thing, with music, with TV shows, women working, we had so much hope for the future and suddenly it was all taken from us,” Sayeed said.
She was among the thousands witnessing the chaos that unfolded at Kabul airport, the memories still raw and difficult to forget.
"I thought I was going to die, I’m not going to be able to get out of the country,” Sayeed said.
“I still have a broken heart, and when I talk to you about this, I get shivers and I want to cry, but I’m not going to do that right now, I have a show tonight.”
With the help of a Hazara entertainment group in Australia, Sayeed has been touring around Australia and New Zealand since last week bringing a scattered diaspora community together under one roof to celebrate Afghanistan’s culture and music that are now banned in Afghanistan.
Credit: Supplied
“For us who are outside of Afghanistan, we’re trying our best so Afghanistan’s music doesn’t die…and if we all do our part, we can have some kind of a hope for the future.”
Although now unable to return to Afghanistan, she’s determined to continue advocating for the rights of the women and girls under the Taliban rule.
“I’m going to try my best to fight from here, with my voice, with my music.”
