Hangama Amiri is memorializing the everyday lives of contemporary Afghan urbanites. Combining a fashion designer’s toolkit with the history and language of painting, Amiri is creating rich images that place Afghan women at the center. We see a colorful bazaar, banners for Khatool Mohammadzai, the first and most senior female general in the Afghan National … Read More
Qais Essar is back with a new addition to his opus “I Am Afghan, Afghani Is Currency.” Volume III, “Zahir” extends his lyrical statement about Afghanistan and Afghan identity. It’s a sweeping five-song collection of mood-focused tracks, each of which seems to centralize and distill the essence of feeling. It’s as if Essar led with … Read More
Afghanistan has a rich and diverse musical history, with influences incorporated from local folk cultures, the high classical traditions of the neighboring Indo-Persian worlds, and popular music from continents away. Unfortunately, that musical culture has also come under attack over and over. Public performance and broadcasting was heavily regulated since well before the Taliban regime took … Read More
Sonita Alizadeh, a young and talented rapper and activist, went from an impoverished life as a teenaged Afghan refugee in Iran to rapping on the stages of summits for social change around the world. The documentary Sonita, now available on Netflix, tells her story. https://medium.com/media/908b8a398c22ca36eee011c25646ec68/hrefhttps://medium.com/media/908b8a398c22ca36eee011c25646ec68/href Sonita lives with her sister and niece in a rented flat … Read More
On Thursday, Sesame Street’s creative team unveiled their newest addition to the muppet team: Zari, a hijab-wearing feminist from Afghanistan. While she won’t be featuring in the New York-neighborhood lineup of the show, Zari will be gracing screens in Afghanistan for the fifth season of Baghch-e-Simsim, the local co-production of Sesame Street. Introducing…Zari! Our new friend … Read More
