'Today, not only Zahra Elham but all the girls in Afghanistan have won,' the winner said.
Afghan female singer Zahra Elham holds the trophy she won in the television music competition"Afghan Star" in Kabul. By Siobhán O'Grady Siobhán O'Grady WorldViews reporter Email Bio Follow March 23 at 2:43 PM Zahra Elham knew the odds were stacked against her.
“I popped the hearts of men out of their chests today,” she told the audience after she was named the winner on Thursday evening. “Today, I represent all the girls of Afghanistan. Today, not only Zahra Elham but all the girls in Afghanistan have won.” Zulala Hashemi became the first woman to make it to the show’s final round in 2017, but that year a man, Sayed Jamal Mubarez, won the top prize.
Muslim clerics have railed against the show and tried to disrupt its auditions. In 2017, Abdul Basit Khalili, a religious scholar, told The Washington Post that “Afghan Star” “seduces the youth and pushes the country into a deeper crisis.” Roya Saberzada, a 21-year-old Afghan women’s rights activist, told The Washington Post by phone from the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif that Elham faced discrimination throughout this season of “Afghan Star,” including insulting comments on her social media pages. Some viewers mocked what they perceived as a nasally sound to her voice. “But she never gave up,” Saberzada said.
She said her role models included Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and Aryana Sayeed, a female singer who has faced threats from Afghan clerics over her clothing choices. Reuters reported this month that Sayeed, who recently performed on “Afghan Star,” travels in an armored vehicle in Afghanistan out of fear for her safety. But she hasn’t stopped performing, even appearing without a headscarf on the televised show.
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