Source: AFP / Getty
Hip hop became the weapon for freedom for one remarkable young lady in Afghanistan.
Sonita Alizadeh enjoyed poetry as a teenager. She never had access to formal education, so she cleaned bathrooms at a non-governmental organization for Afghan refugees while learning the basics of how to read and write.
At 16-years-old, Sonita was told by her mother that she was to be sold into marriage. She had already recorded several songs, responded to the news by shooting a music video for a record titled “Daughters For Sale.”
On the song, Alizadeh raps: “I scream to make up for a woman’s lifetime silence / I scream on behalf of the deep wounds on my body / I scream for a body exhausted in its cage / A body that broke under the price tags you put on it.”
The song was published a year ago, today (October 13th), the video has received well over 70,000 views Among those to view the “Daughters For Sale” video was a rep for the Strongheart Group.
Sonita’s story was told by CNN, of the group that “helps individuals directly impacted by social issues tell their story.”
“She had passion and drive,” Zoe Adams CEO of the Strongheart Group explained to CNN. “We knew we could help her achieve her dreams to get an education, develop as an artist and be a voice for girls being forced into marriage.”
On behalf of the Strongheart Group, Alizadeh was offered a student visa and a full scholarship to the Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah. The new-found musician also revealed her plans to move back to Afghanistan as a rapper for women’s rights.
“They’re even waiting for my new song… My family, they changed their minds. If I can change their minds with my music, then maybe I can change the world,” Alizadeh said to CNN.
Hip Hop Saves the Life of a Young Afghanistan Woman was originally published on boom92houston.com
