Sonita Alizada was born into extreme poverty in Herat, Afghanistan. Josh Sparzadeh
Sonita Alizada was born into extreme poverty in Herat, Afghanistan. Josh Sparzadeh
Sonita Alizada was born into extreme poverty in Herat, Afghanistan. Josh Sparzadeh
Sonita Alizada was born into extreme poverty in Herat, Afghanistan. Josh Sparzadeh

Afghan rapper and refugee Sonita Alizada: education is the way out of child marriage


Jamie Prentis
  • English
  • Arabic

By the age of 16, Afghan refugee Sonita Alizada had already escaped two attempts by her family to sell her into a forced marriage, the second only failing when the contract fell through.

Born into extreme poverty in Herat, Afghanistan, she and her family fled the rise of the Taliban and political unrest for Iran when she was six or seven years old.

During her childhood she worked as a labourer and was only able to receive an education because of aid via an Iranian NGO for undocumented Afghan children.

It was through that education that she discovered her passion for music and in particular rap, setting her on a journey to campaign against child marriage and use her platform to help young people get an education.

In 2014 her song Brides for Sale and the accompanying, uncompromising music video went viral and thrust her into the spotlight.

The music video, which shows her with a bar code on her head and a black eye, rails against the practice of marrying children off for money and the silence young girls have to endure.

"I started to learn music when I was attending classes at the local NGO for undocumented Afghan refugees. I needed an outlet to express myself. The injustices that I was witnessing had to be given a voice," Alizada, who has lived in the US since 2015, told The National.

“I started out trying pop music, but my message was too much to fit into a pop song. Then I tried rap, rap made me feel good. People listen to lyrics. They pay attention. I used music to share important messages in an attempt to change attitudes and behaviours.”

'I needed an outlet to express myself. The injustices that I was witnessing had to be given a voice,' says Sonita Alizada. Courtesy Sonita Alizada
'I needed an outlet to express myself. The injustices that I was witnessing had to be given a voice,' says Sonita Alizada. Courtesy Sonita Alizada

While Brides for Sale is perhaps the song Alizada – now in her 20s – is best known for, her music and advocacy has never stopped. The combination of the two means her message resonates on multiple levels and she has been able to address events and people at a local and government level.

But she says her message is still largely delivered through her music, with rappers such as Eminem and the Iranian artist Yas cited as big influences.

“Rap, music and poetry have been outlets for me to express myself to the world. They allow me to tell my story. They provide a platform to share my advocacy. Through my advocacy I have worked to create awareness and positive change on multiple levels, but particularly for the girls and women of Afghanistan.

“Rap is powerful. I do not have a favourite song or lyric. Each of my songs is about what is in my heart, whether it be child labour or child marriage, I am really passionate about all of the issues.”

Her story first grabbed the attention of the world when she met Iranian filmmaker Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami, who was researching a film about Afghan refugees in Iran.

Brides for Sale would emerge from the documentary Sonita, which went on to win awards at global film festivals, including Sundance in 2016. Ghaemmaghami also helped Alizada obtain a passport and move to the US.

“Education is the way to equality. The practice of forced child marriage is largely a consequence of lack of educational opportunity. My mother was married at the age of 12 to a man she met on her wedding day. Neither she nor her family knew any better, this was tradition. Education affords the knowledge that there are other options,” she said.

“Education provides the opportunity to better oneself and self-support through employment. Lack of education is a major factor in poverty, and poverty is what led my family to feel they had to sell me.”

'Education is the way to equality. The practice of forced child marriage is largely a consequence of lack of educational opportunity,' says Sonita Alizada. Christina Perea
'Education is the way to equality. The practice of forced child marriage is largely a consequence of lack of educational opportunity,' says Sonita Alizada. Christina Perea

Alizada is now also a youth leader for the Global Partnership for Education and a champion for Girls Not Brides, a partnership dedicated to ending child marriage.

GPE says that 9.2 million children are enrolled in general education in Afghanistan, 39 per cent of them girls, up from 0.9 million in 2001, almost none of whom were females.

Nonetheless, more than 3.7 million children remain out of school, 60 per cent of them girls, with GPE allocating $207 million since 2011 to help expand access to education in Afghanistan. The partnership has also supported the recruitment and training of more women teachers to some of the country’s most isolated and poorest areas.

So while progress is being made, Alizada says access to education in Afghanistan remains the biggest hurdle.

“I believe access to education is probably the greatest challenge. Education not only for young boys and girls to understand their choices and potential, but also for parents to understand the possibilities and opportunities to better their lives,” she said.

“Access to education is actually the driving force behind the elimination of forced child marriage. Reduced poverty, gender equality, social justice, improved health are just a few of the positive results that have all been directly linked to increased access to education.

"As organisations like GPE, governments and individuals continue to support access to, and availability of, education to the people of Afghanistan, change is inevitable.

Her story first grabbed the attention of the world when she met the Iranian filmmaker Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami. Courtesy Sonita Alizada
Her story first grabbed the attention of the world when she met the Iranian filmmaker Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami. Courtesy Sonita Alizada

“I am always hopeful in regard to having a better future for my people and my homeland. Every day I see young people standing up for change – when this takes place then change is possible.”

Much has changed for Alizada in the last few years and she now studies at a liberal arts college in New York. She says she is often asked about her relationship with her mother and family more widely.

“I am happy to share that today my mother is very supportive of my work and my vision for the future. I talk to my family frequently,” she said.

"I realise that it is difficult for people to believe that I do love my mother, but my mother wasn’t selling me because she didn’t love me; she was selling me because that was the only future she saw possible for me.

"Through my advocacy and the opportunities that I have been afforded, she now knows there are options and possibilities for women to do great things in the world.

Sonita Alizada is now also a youth leader for the Global Partnership for Education and a champion for Girls Not Brides. Courtesy Sonita Alizada
Sonita Alizada is now also a youth leader for the Global Partnership for Education and a champion for Girls Not Brides. Courtesy Sonita Alizada
THE SPECS

      

 

Engine: 1.5-litre

 

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

 

Power: 110 horsepower 

 

Torque: 147Nm 

 

Price: From Dh59,700 

 

On sale: now  

 
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE v IRELAND

All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi

1st ODI, Friday, January 8

2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10

3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12

4th ODI, Thursday, January 14

Company%C2%A0profile
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German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.

Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.

Based: Riyadh

Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany

Founded: September, 2020

Number of employees: 70

Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions

Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds  

Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices

In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

The biog

Profession: Senior sports presenter and producer

Marital status: Single

Favourite book: Al Nabi by Jibran Khalil Jibran

Favourite food: Italian and Lebanese food

Favourite football player: Cristiano Ronaldo

Languages: Arabic, French, English, Portuguese and some Spanish

Website: www.liliane-tannoury.com

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
RESULT

Fifth ODI, at Headingley

England 351/9
Pakistan 297
England win by 54 runs (win series 4-0)

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Schedule:

Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore

Fast%20X
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UAE SQUAD

Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)

Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale

Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni

Director: Amith Krishnan

Rating: 3.5/5

Imperial%20Island%3A%20A%20History%20of%20Empire%20in%20Modern%20Britain
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The specs

Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric

Transmission: n/a

Power: 402bhp

Torque: 659Nm

Price estimate: Dh200,000

On sale: Q3 2022