Afghan pop star Aryana Sayeed is turning music into a protest against Taliban restrictions on women, taking her message of resistance and hope to European stages through a women-only concert tour.
Yahoo News, in an interview carried from Euronews Culture, reported that Sayeed is using her Ladies Only tour to bring women together and raise awareness of the situation facing Afghan women and girls. The singer remains one of Afghanistan’s most recognisable stars, known for her music, activism and work as a judge on The Voice Afghanistan and other major talent shows.
Sayeed fled Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power in 2021. She has since been unable to return or perform in her home country. From abroad, she has continued her activism through DEFAW, or Defenders of Equality, Freedom and Advancement for Women.
The idea for the women-only concerts came after the Taliban imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls. Sayeed said she had been planning the tour for three or four years because she wanted to stand against what she sees as injustice and give a voice to Afghan women.
The Ladies Only tour began in Rotterdam on 4 September, with Sayeed performing at Laurenskerk. She is scheduled to travel to Stockholm on 5 September, Hamburg on 26 September and Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt, on 3 October.
For Sayeed, the concerts are more than music shows. She wants them to demonstrate the strength of women, bring them together and draw international attention to the millions of Afghan women living under Taliban rule.
She said girls in Afghanistan cannot continue school beyond grade six, while women cannot work or enjoy some everyday activities. She described the situation as a period of darkness and urged Afghan women and girls not to lose hope.
Through DEFAW, Sayeed said she speaks to about 100 Afghan women and girls inside Afghanistan each month through Zoom. She hears stories of women who feel hopeless after losing access to education and employment. She said some feel forced towards early marriage because they see no future.
Sayeed believes the situation will not last forever. She said people will eventually raise their voices, stand against injustice and demand justice.
She also called on Afghan men to support women’s rights. Sayeed said women cannot bring about such change alone and urged men to stand up for their mothers, sisters and women in general. She pointed to protests by Afghan men in countries including Germany and the US as a positive sign.
Although Sayeed had toured outside Afghanistan before the Taliban returned, she said she now feels increasingly isolated from her country. She cannot return, appear on Afghan television or deliver her message to women there in person.
Her music, however, still reaches Afghan audiences online. She said platforms such as YouTube allow women inside the country to remain connected with her work.
Sayeed began her music career with R&B before moving into pop. She also performs traditional Afghan songs. During a visit to Afghanistan in 2011, she combined older songs with new music and found that audiences embraced the result.
A major part of her music now focuses on women’s rights. She has performed some of those songs at the European Parliament, UNICEF and other major government gatherings. She said this remains the part of her career she finds most fulfilling.
Sayeed also rejects the use of artificial intelligence in her music. She said the technology can have benefits but worries that it could remove the human touch. She is particularly concerned that AI can reproduce singers’ voices and create videos of artists who are not actually present.
“I don’t like AI, and I don’t use it,” she said. “I’m not for it. I don’t support it at all.”
