1 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:33,000 The dark history for Kabul and Afghanistan is repeating again. 2 00:02:33,199 --> 00:02:39,400 The young generation of the past 20 years who has been working hard to bring changes, 3 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:44,680 is leaving the country like many of the elite. They have been made refugees…this is really painful. 4 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:56,840 As you can see, it's not only me but tens of thousands others who are taking refuge in different countries. 5 00:02:57,159 --> 00:02:58,840 Look! 6 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:05,840 This is how we become refugees...to stay alive. 7 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:30,240 The phone these days is most valuable to me, it is its own world which connects me to everything. 8 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:47,439 Exactly one year ago I visited my homeland, Afghanistan, for the last time. 9 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:55,360 A few days later my whole view of my home has been destroyed. 10 00:03:56,319 --> 00:04:00,879 There is no space there anymore for me and many other women 11 00:04:01,439 --> 00:04:03,199 for a humane life. 12 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:09,080 On my journey I could witness many beautiful but also some sad moments. 13 00:04:09,759 --> 00:04:14,719 But above all I met many courages women. 14 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,279 One of them is Sumaia Karimi, who I will meet here today. 15 00:04:43,759 --> 00:04:50,199 The last time I saw you was within good circumstances... and now it is totally different, I can't believe it. 16 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:11,800 - I am a Muslim girl, but I sing a song. 17 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:12,800 I'm a singer. 18 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,639 When I wanna do something... I will do it. 19 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:02,160 My name means 'honesty': Sadiqa. 20 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:07,439 Most of the time I try to be like my name, honest, 21 00:06:08,879 --> 00:06:12,000 It hurts me so many times. 22 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:17,000 One of the most important time that I could not be honest 23 00:06:17,439 --> 00:06:18,920 according to my name, 24 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:21,920 when I was deciding to come to Kabul 25 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:23,920 for my further education. 26 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,439 My father was saying: "You are just a girl, 27 00:06:27,439 --> 00:06:31,800 just try to have a husband, try to marry, 28 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:35,360 have your own children. 29 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:37,680 Why do you wanna study?" 30 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:39,160 I was shocked. 31 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:42,160 Why is my father thinking like this? 32 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:46,519 But for my brothers, he had something else. 33 00:06:46,519 --> 00:06:50,199 He wanted them to have a high education, 34 00:06:50,199 --> 00:06:54,439 to be in other countries, to have their own plans, 35 00:06:54,439 --> 00:06:55,519 what they wanted to do. 36 00:06:56,120 --> 00:07:01,120 there was nobody that I could share my feelings 37 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:03,519 or I could share my thoughts with. 38 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:05,519 This is my life, this is me. 39 00:07:05,519 --> 00:07:06,959 Sadiqa is like this. 40 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,240 I love to ride bicycle. 41 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:14,000 I started a part-time job just to have money 42 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,399 to buy the bicycle. 43 00:07:16,399 --> 00:07:19,040 Again, I didn't tell anything to my father. 44 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:45,879 I wanted to do martial arts. 45 00:07:45,879 --> 00:07:49,000 I mean, I wanted to learn martial arts. 46 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:50,720 It doesn't matter if it is TaeKwonDo, 47 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:55,040 it is Kung Fu or it is boxing or Muay Thai. 48 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:55,920 It doesn't matter. 49 00:07:56,399 --> 00:07:59,519 Living in Kabul alone, without your family, 50 00:08:00,519 --> 00:08:01,920 with a famous career, 51 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:03,639 with a famous face, 52 00:08:03,639 --> 00:08:05,319 with a famous character. 53 00:08:05,319 --> 00:08:09,519 It is not just hard, it is risky. 54 00:08:09,759 --> 00:08:12,879 If don't you accept such challenges, 55 00:08:12,879 --> 00:08:14,399 so why are you alive? 56 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:17,680 I want to have that pride in myself. 57 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:29,800 When I'm weak I just sit on my prayer place. 58 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:33,600 And I just cry, cry until my negative energy, 59 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:37,159 is coming out of my body, out of my mind. 60 00:08:37,159 --> 00:08:38,559 And this is my way. 61 00:09:38,639 --> 00:09:43,519 So finally we could have a good recording. 62 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:45,639 I wish you were here... 63 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:49,480 and you could join us, see Afghanistan... 64 00:09:50,039 --> 00:09:53,480 It's not a dangerous place, believe me. 65 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:59,200 Here people enjoy living, but outside they say something else about it... 66 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:08,519 - The situation has so much changed. 67 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:14,279 We are thinking about leaving the country. 68 00:10:14,279 --> 00:10:15,960 How should I leave? 69 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:17,639 How should I be secure? 70 00:10:17,639 --> 00:10:19,039 How should I protect myself? 71 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:22,960 This country is my home. 72 00:10:23,279 --> 00:10:27,360 I was just waiting for my scholarship 73 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:28,759 that it should come. 74 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:34,080 It is serious, I'm sure that they know about my home, 75 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:36,200 but I'm saying: "where should I go?" 76 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:38,639 Because everywhere is closed. 77 00:10:38,639 --> 00:10:41,039 Other countries are not accepting anyone, 78 00:10:41,039 --> 00:10:44,720 or they don't give visa out to us. 79 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:49,720 Nobody, nobody going to allow me in their home, 80 00:10:49,879 --> 00:10:53,960 because I am a danger for them. 81 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:55,120 Because of me, 82 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:59,919 maybe they may be in a very risky situation 83 00:10:59,919 --> 00:11:04,679 so even I can't go to any friends or families, 84 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:06,039 I'm alone. 85 00:11:30,799 --> 00:11:34,200 Oh god, when I am remembering again this... 86 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:39,559 you know, terrifying memory... my whole body is shaking. 87 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:54,559 What are we talking about? Is it simply that easy to take control of a country? 88 00:11:54,559 --> 00:12:00,120 Why should I hide myself? Why should I be running like this? I've not done anything wrong. 89 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:04,240 I had a lot of dreams for the honor of my country... 90 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:11,919 Everything was, you know, destroyed. I was just looking for a way to flee. 91 00:12:12,279 --> 00:12:17,000 I was hoping that I could enter the airport, but unfortunately I could not, 92 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:22,240 because there were a lot of people and I could not pass. 93 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:36,879 I was sitting and sleeping for 6 days on the ground. 94 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:47,039 But when I came here... I thought every bad situation had been finished...but... 95 00:12:48,519 --> 00:12:59,360 This waiting...for the sake of a new life... for 8 months...8 months have been wasted here. 96 00:13:00,039 --> 00:13:02,399 Every night I have night mares. 97 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:08,600 I have a problem with my teeth... but there is no doctor here. 98 00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:13,399 Sometimes I think about if they send me back to Afghanistan what will happen to me... 99 00:13:15,159 --> 00:13:20,480 I know these bad days will end... one day. 100 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:33,399 Sumaia means radiance or glimmer. 101 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:39,200 I'm proud my parents chose this name for me. 102 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:49,720 My goals and dreams are not only music related, but also about helping my country and fellow people in need. 103 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:54,559 I've always been interested in politics. 104 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:57,759 As a child I even wanted to become a parliamentarian. 105 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:44,320 Luckily I was born into an open-minded family. 106 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:52,000 My father has always been encouraging me, along with my mother and other family members. 107 00:14:52,000 --> 00:15:00,399 I remember some of my classmates stopped going to school, because their families decided against further education. 108 00:15:00,399 --> 00:15:04,440 They thought teenage girls shouldn't study. 109 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:24,559 It was my first year at Kabul university, when I decided to make music my focus. 110 00:15:24,559 --> 00:15:32,159 It was there where I went on stage for the first time. 111 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:41,000 Traditional people consider this a taboo and think I will lose my dignity through music. 112 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:46,480 But I believe the opposite: I gain dignity and feel proud. 113 00:15:47,039 --> 00:15:52,360 And that I can open the door to music for other girls. 114 00:15:53,200 --> 00:16:03,360 Life can be difficult. Try hard, anything is possible. Only the impossible is impossible. 115 00:16:29,399 --> 00:16:34,279 I will never forget the first time I went on stage. 116 00:16:34,639 --> 00:16:40,279 Nobody applauded nor encouraged me. 117 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:51,200 As if I was doing something wrong or without value. 118 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:55,279 When I started I knew... 119 00:16:57,039 --> 00:17:02,480 how difficult it might get and perhaps nobody would support me... 120 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:07,960 and that I might even lose the ones around me, 121 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:18,559 that perhaps people would make fun of me or that they would even attack me 122 00:17:18,559 --> 00:17:19,960 or that perhaps... 123 00:17:23,519 --> 00:17:25,599 nobody would accept me. 124 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:12,480 When I take a look at Afghanistan, I see suffering, bloodshed and loss of young people. 125 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:22,079 I want to be the reason for a brief moment of happiness. Bringing a smile to people's face is a huge deal for me. 126 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:27,880 My message to all women and girls in Afghanistan is: 127 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:31,799 Believe in yourself and your strengths. 128 00:18:32,119 --> 00:18:38,480 I'm Sumaia, a girl among girls of my country. With high hopes and big dreams. 129 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:24,200 How do you feel having entered a new life? 130 00:19:24,559 --> 00:19:28,400 When I think about leaving the country, saving my life, 131 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:39,240 being in a place where I feel safe and have the right to study or choose my own cloths, 132 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:42,599 then I can say I am happy... 133 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:53,720 but which price did I have to pay for this freedom of choice? 134 00:19:54,000 --> 00:20:04,279 Because when I see the conditions for girls and women in Afghanistan now, I cannot be happy. 135 00:20:06,079 --> 00:20:17,079 Even after having lived abroad in safety for a longer time, some parts of me are still tied to Afghanistan. 136 00:20:18,559 --> 00:20:28,640 I lost everything I had built for myself in the last 20 years, my home, my goals and dreams... 137 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:40,799 So although having all of these opportunities here, I cannot be as happy as I was back home in Afghanistan. 138 00:20:40,799 --> 00:20:54,920 The only way to comfort my heart is trying to be a voice for the women of Afghanistan. 139 00:20:55,880 --> 00:21:08,039 Once I met with my musician friends Freshta and Sadiqa, it became such a special memory for me. 140 00:21:11,759 --> 00:21:16,920 Do you have plans to continue singing professionally in Iran, Freshta? 141 00:21:17,759 --> 00:21:20,000 Maybe in the future. 142 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:25,759 It's not possible at the moment as you know. 143 00:21:25,759 --> 00:21:35,640 Obviously. Music is about money – if you have it you will make it. 144 00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:39,160 - How did you continue music studies in Kabul? 145 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:43,920 - I did not. I did not take any courses here. 146 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:50,480 - I only work on YouTube. - Really? - Yes, I have my own channel. 147 00:21:51,759 --> 00:21:54,359 Where should I go for courses? 148 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:58,480 If you go to a guy, on the third day he will hit on you. 149 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:00,279 Seriously! 150 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:07,599 Also people will even make up stuff about you, what a girl is doing there. 151 00:22:08,279 --> 00:22:14,079 And if that does not happen, the courses cost a fortune. 152 00:22:14,079 --> 00:22:16,200 In Afghanistan there are no opportunities, unfortunately. 153 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:20,640 In Afghanistan there is some freedom for women, but no resources for them. 154 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:27,000 Whereas in Iran there are resources, but women have no freedom. 155 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:32,559 - Despite this, Iranian girls are very active. - Very, yes. 156 00:22:32,559 --> 00:22:38,319 Singing courses are filled with women there. All of them are excellent. 157 00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:48,680 In the end you can only change yourself. Even if you try hard, you can only achieve for yourself. 158 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:57,880 Let me be direct: Why should a girl in art make herself naked? 159 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:03,279 Boys do not need to do that. Everybody talks about their voice. 160 00:23:03,279 --> 00:23:14,240 When it comes to girls, it's all about their body. We have to be sexy and "hot" before they actually listen. 161 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:21,640 We should accept that looks are not so important, but... 162 00:23:25,599 --> 00:23:26,559 Fighting? 163 00:23:26,559 --> 00:23:30,119 We also have to be used to "Fight. Kill. Beat. Repeat." 164 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:38,000 In the name of God, I'm Freshta Farokhi from Bamyan province. 165 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:13,480 Freshta means Angel. 166 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:19,400 I really love my name, it's quite uncommon. 167 00:24:19,599 --> 00:24:30,200 I'm glad my Hazaragi music is recorded and shown to the world. 168 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:41,160 I wake up early at 4:30 AM and go pray. And later at six o'clock I go play soccer. 169 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:49,519 I have soccer practice until seven, after I have school from eight to twelve. 170 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:58,079 I study there and then I go to my music lessons. 171 00:24:58,079 --> 00:25:07,960 When I was little I really enjoyed watching soccer on TV. At that time women soccer teams became a reality here. 172 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:15,839 Together with many other girls I joined one of these teams and started practicing. 173 00:25:15,839 --> 00:25:18,759 We even got our own soccer field. 174 00:25:18,759 --> 00:25:23,799 It has many seats with separated sections for men and women. 175 00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:31,240 When we travel to play somewhere, I feel very happy to represent our province 176 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:36,480 and especially girls. Because some families do not allow them to play soccer. 177 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:46,480 As a girl I feel happy that we play soccer so that people see women can do it too. 178 00:25:57,160 --> 00:26:00,000 Oh, how little I was... 179 00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:14,000 I went on stage for the first time about 6 years ago. I felt really good and happy. 180 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:23,400 When I was little my family allowed me to sing on stage and to enjoy music. 181 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:34,359 But later on people began pressuring my parents to restrict me so that I do not become a ‘bad girl’. 182 00:26:34,359 --> 00:26:42,759 I secretly practiced music and sometimes even skipped school for it. 183 00:26:42,759 --> 00:26:52,319 Slowly over time I tried to make my family understand that music is not a bad thing for me. 184 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:56,359 Especially my oldest sister stood by me. 185 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:21,359 Just last week, my uncle received a call: The frontline (of Bamyan) had fallen! 186 00:27:21,759 --> 00:27:29,839 We packed our things, got in the car and fled to the outskirts. 187 00:27:29,839 --> 00:27:38,960 It was much safer for me to go to Kabul, so my mother agreed to me leaving for Kabul alone. 188 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:46,920 I went to Bamyan city center, from there I left with my teacher through Maidan valley. 189 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:51,839 It was there when a Taliban fighter got into our car. 190 00:27:51,839 --> 00:27:56,759 We were scared. Why did he enter our car? 191 00:27:57,319 --> 00:28:10,079 Slowly over time he started talking to our driver and we realised he just wanted a lift. 192 00:28:10,079 --> 00:28:17,079 We came to a Taliban checkpoint where they search people. But he got off and gave us free passage. 193 00:28:17,079 --> 00:28:28,200 If women show their hair or face, the Taliban beat or kidnap them as punishment. 194 00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:37,680 Sometimes I feel hopeless and fear when the Taliban come, all we achieved will be for nothing. 195 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:45,920 When the Taliban take over Bamyan, they will not let us live freely like now. 196 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:52,759 We will not be allowed to go to the market, without covering ourselves from top to toe. 197 00:28:54,279 --> 00:29:05,000 It hurts because my generation has never experienced this, we grew up rather freely and achieved a lot. 198 00:29:05,519 --> 00:29:15,680 My message to all girls is: Study. Be confident and successful. Be yourself. 199 00:29:37,599 --> 00:29:43,359 Why do I feel this longing when looking at the ocean? Afghanistan is not even by the sea. 200 00:29:43,359 --> 00:29:49,599 Whenever I look at it, I miss Afghanistan more and think about my home. 201 00:29:50,119 --> 00:29:55,160 You probably know the song 'My heart is on the other side of the sea', 202 00:29:55,359 --> 00:30:00,480 so this evokes something like nostalgia for us. 203 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:09,200 The sea can be a symbol for being far away and separated, or even being outcast without a way back. 204 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:14,759 From the very beginning being abroad, I have not been feeling well mentally, until today even. 205 00:30:15,599 --> 00:30:26,359 But I could not just sit indoors and feel sad. I decided to start taking online singing classes. 206 00:30:26,799 --> 00:30:33,480 Singing is part of my soul, honestly. It's my love and joy. 207 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:40,839 Samin, my singing coach is not only my teacher she inspires me a lot and I learn many things. 208 00:30:40,839 --> 00:30:49,039 Like being brave and working against all odds, making something possible. 209 00:31:08,799 --> 00:31:17,079 In Afghanistan women lost their most basic rights. I had tried very hard as a female singer for many years. 210 00:31:17,079 --> 00:31:21,000 I wished my voice could be heard within my own country, 211 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:27,480 but now they are even destroying the instruments in front of our eyes. 212 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:31,640 I sing this song to myself when my heart is heavy. 213 00:32:32,079 --> 00:32:39,319 It reminds me of my life with my husband... 214 00:32:40,119 --> 00:32:47,119 Everybody has a special thing in life. And it was taken from me when I was young. 215 00:32:48,119 --> 00:32:50,400 I was married with 17. 216 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:55,079 My husband was killed in the civil war a year later. 217 00:32:55,079 --> 00:33:01,720 I was left alone with one daughter. I struggled raising her by myself. 218 00:33:03,039 --> 00:33:10,160 I got married a second time 15 years after. 219 00:33:12,319 --> 00:33:16,160 Again, my husband was killed in the war. Again, I was alone again. 220 00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:25,480 In villages, when women carry water home on their shoulders, they sing. 221 00:33:25,839 --> 00:33:32,599 I would listen, learn and repeat their songs back home. 222 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:40,480 From childhood I liked music and asked my father to take me to Kabul for singing. 223 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:45,359 TV channels from Kabul always show female singers. 224 00:33:45,799 --> 00:33:48,119 Instead he made me miserable. 225 00:34:20,679 --> 00:34:33,159 I also sing in Pashtu because I heard it but I do not speak it. I sing to myself in Farsi when I am cleaning or cooking. 226 00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:40,400 Singing comforts my heart. 227 00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:44,800 A woman has to be strong and needs to fight. 228 00:35:45,039 --> 00:35:49,519 Life in Afghanistan is risky. Especially for girls. 229 00:35:49,519 --> 00:35:54,360 It was clear to me that chasing your dreams means risk. 230 00:35:54,679 --> 00:36:00,559 It deeply hurts me that there is always war here. 231 00:36:00,559 --> 00:36:04,719 Since 40 years now we've been at war. 232 00:36:05,599 --> 00:36:08,920 I love this city. Kabul is everything for me. 233 00:36:10,519 --> 00:36:21,480 2 or 3 years ago I gave a concert in Bamyan. Over 10.000 women attended it. 234 00:36:21,599 --> 00:36:26,320 Film, music, theatre...they're important to people. 235 00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:33,000 Sometimes I go sing on the street with a guitar for people. 236 00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:48,519 Then people smile and children dance. Watching their faces brightening up for just a minute is everything to me. 237 00:36:49,840 --> 00:36:53,360 I fight with my voice. 238 00:37:52,679 --> 00:37:56,880 My whole family is in Germany, Hamburg. I decided to go there as well. 239 00:37:56,880 --> 00:37:59,559 I was 26 years old then. 240 00:38:00,400 --> 00:38:09,719 For one whole year I cried every day. And I wanted to go back to Afghanistan. 241 00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:14,159 In the beginning I thought Germans were very cold people... 242 00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:18,480 Being of different roots was not easy. 243 00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:24,480 I love Germany. Germany became a second home to me. 244 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:27,760 I'm an 'Appener'...from the German city of Appen. 245 00:38:43,119 --> 00:38:46,559 Nobody wanted me to become a singer. 246 00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:52,159 "You have to become a doctor...or better a teacher." 247 00:38:52,559 --> 00:38:56,000 I wasn't easy for me. I wanted to become a singer. 248 00:38:57,400 --> 00:39:05,239 I often had discussions about it with my mother and brothers. 249 00:39:05,239 --> 00:39:08,880 I fought for it...although I was scared of course. 250 00:39:09,559 --> 00:39:13,159 I always told myself: "Wajiha, you can make it." 251 00:39:14,719 --> 00:39:23,000 "You can show them that music is everything to you" 252 00:39:23,239 --> 00:39:31,440 My family had no idea I joined a band and sang. I did not tell them. 253 00:39:31,719 --> 00:39:34,559 My grandmother supported me. 254 00:39:34,719 --> 00:39:45,960 She said: "Let her be, she is young and loves singing." My grandmother was a strong woman and an idol for me. 255 00:40:37,880 --> 00:40:40,239 - I guess in my city, as a singer, 256 00:40:40,239 --> 00:40:42,440 they don't recognize me as a singer, 257 00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:45,960 but I want to be a singer for the rest of my life. 258 00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:17,880 I'm Afghan and I was born here in Mashhad 259 00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:20,000 and I've never been to Afghanistan. 260 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:23,679 When I got familiar more and more with their music 261 00:41:23,679 --> 00:41:26,599 and I found it so fascinating. 262 00:41:26,719 --> 00:41:29,519 And I think I have so many precious things 263 00:41:29,519 --> 00:41:32,239 inside myself from Afghanistan. 264 00:41:32,239 --> 00:41:34,679 There is a neighborhood in Mashhad there, 265 00:41:36,039 --> 00:41:38,960 all the Afghans, most of them live there. 266 00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:42,119 They have their own shops, their own restaurants, 267 00:41:42,119 --> 00:41:44,840 cuisines and it's so lively. 268 00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:46,000 Of course, it's so difficult 269 00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:48,800 to be an Afghan in a country like Iran. 270 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:51,599 If they just speak with the Afghan accent, 271 00:41:52,559 --> 00:41:54,400 people will make fun of them. 272 00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:58,000 I was a child and I didn't know that I have Afghan roots. 273 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:01,440 And when I realized that you shouldn't tell others 274 00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:03,880 that you have these roots, but you should hide it. 275 00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:08,159 The first time I went on stage, 276 00:42:09,199 --> 00:42:11,079 I was a university student. 277 00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:14,760 We were three girls and then someone 278 00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:17,880 just disconnected our microphone 279 00:42:17,880 --> 00:42:19,280 and it was the first time 280 00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:22,400 that I felt so disappointed. 281 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:24,480 You go to these classes, you learn how to sing. 282 00:42:24,480 --> 00:42:27,920 You learn, as a woman, you learn how to play an instrument, 283 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:31,440 but then there's nobody to listen to you. 284 00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:33,000 There's no stage for you. 285 00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:37,719 And then you feel isolated from your city or society. 286 00:42:37,719 --> 00:42:40,079 That's what we have in Iran. 287 00:42:40,079 --> 00:42:42,280 Afghan community was a very 288 00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:44,719 completely different experience for me. 289 00:42:44,719 --> 00:42:47,840 They respected me a lot and they encouraged me a lot. 290 00:42:47,840 --> 00:42:51,239 And it was the first time they gave me the microphone 291 00:42:51,239 --> 00:42:54,000 to talk about myself, to introduce myself. 292 00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:56,280 This singing helps me a lot, 293 00:42:56,280 --> 00:43:00,199 a lot, to know more about myself as a woman. 294 00:43:00,199 --> 00:43:04,039 Playing Tombak and singing always gives me 295 00:43:04,039 --> 00:43:06,039 a very good feeling to do everything. 296 00:43:06,039 --> 00:43:10,280 Sometimes I think that without doing it, I cannot, 297 00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:13,159 I'm not able to do the other things in my life. 298 00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:34,639 Did you know about my plans to go to Afghanistan? 299 00:43:35,400 --> 00:43:38,960 Yes it's very sad. My brother Faroogh wanted to do the same... 300 00:43:39,079 --> 00:43:47,159 - Yes, you wanted to do this with your brother... - Because the border is so near to our home. 301 00:43:47,440 --> 00:43:50,920 We already planned for it. Then all these things happened suddenly. 302 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:53,679 So let's go there then! 303 00:43:54,239 --> 00:43:57,920 - To look at Afghanistan from afar. - And to wave our hands. 304 00:45:14,039 --> 00:45:17,519 We know the situation's getting worse and worse in Afghanistan, 305 00:45:17,519 --> 00:45:18,559 especially for women. 306 00:45:18,639 --> 00:45:21,000 What's going to happen to them? 307 00:45:21,280 --> 00:45:24,360 In a very short time all these bad things happen 308 00:45:25,679 --> 00:45:27,239 and I'm just watching it. 309 00:45:52,199 --> 00:46:05,039 I took the hands of my siblings and mother to run to Kabul airport, unknowing if we would survive or not. 310 00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:10,519 It was like the whole country was at the airport. 311 00:46:10,679 --> 00:46:12,159 There were too many people... 312 00:46:43,159 --> 00:46:52,119 I saw many of my friends and colleagues... everyone fleeing with just one backpack. 313 00:46:52,519 --> 00:46:57,320 The Taliban did not treat us as human beings. 314 00:46:58,679 --> 00:47:04,760 This was the darkest experience of my life... 315 00:47:04,760 --> 00:47:10,440 Everybody was hopeless and unsure of their destiny. 316 00:47:10,679 --> 00:47:17,519 It made me feel extremely small and insignificant. 317 00:47:48,440 --> 00:47:51,400 I can't believe, this photo is already one year old. 318 00:47:51,719 --> 00:47:54,360 - Yes and so much has already changed. 319 00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:57,320 When I look at my face here 320 00:47:57,599 --> 00:48:00,159 so many good and bad memories come to mind. 321 00:48:00,239 --> 00:48:05,400 You know, meeting you was so important and exciting for me. 322 00:48:05,400 --> 00:48:12,039 People from outside Afghanistan usually imagined all women there were covered by Burqas, 323 00:48:12,400 --> 00:48:18,159 but it used to be not true, brave women could even be active artists. 324 00:48:19,079 --> 00:48:24,440 We, the women, will do our best so that our voices and music will be heard all over the world. 325 00:49:14,719 --> 00:49:19,519 It's not the first time for women in Afghanistan being oppressed and having to start from nothing. 326 00:49:19,880 --> 00:49:24,000 Over time there have been many historic experiences like this for us, 327 00:49:24,639 --> 00:49:29,960 we will get up again with what we have and stand together strong to go on.