Interview:

Music is a real bridge between love, human emotions, and feelings. When you feel that you love someone or something, while there is no one to listen to you, and there is no one to believe you, so this first thing is to play music and listen to that. Music takes us to the virtual world and you image that you are with your lover and you go with them to many other places. Yet here in Afghanistan, we have been banned from music during the Taliban regime. During that time I had a radio, it was always hidden and invisible. Sometimes when I had saved my pocket money, I had the ability to buy small batteries and use to go to a dark room, so that no one would hear my music and radio. If so, the Taliban would come and punish me and my family. For a few minutes, I was feeling relaxed and something was removing my pain. It was very nice to have found this ability and listen to music.

However, we have a special need to listen to music, as it makes us relax. Yet in Afghanistan, a group of people believe that listening to music is not allowed in Islam, and we should not be listening to music. As a woman who loves music, I do feel sometimes that I need to listen to music just to help myself be relaxed for a while. It is clear that music connects our world together. Some people love to hear English songs while they are living in Afghanistan. It is like a bridge between countries, through music, countries that can share their cultures, problems, and languages.

Music also has an impact on people’s lives. Sometimes when an afghan listens to another country’s music, they feel they can be like that singer, because of the love between the singer and the audience, it increases communication. Most singers like Ahmad Zaher are popular outside of Afghanistan, and also singers from other countries are famous in Afghanistan. Music sets the tone for cultures and writing retains a literary value in the world. Nowadays, many efforts take place to promote music. They train new singers and help musicians to become skilled and professional singers. In Afghanistan, TOLO TV runs a program named Afghan Star, and every year they train twelve new singers from a younger generation, which is a popular TV program here in Afghanistan and also around the world.

I am a woman writer and writing is my hobby. When I feel tired, sad, I start writing, and I write all my pain down on paper. Writing helps me start a new life and leave the pain. When you feel happy, you can work better, you can talk better, and you can make better decisions. My own creative writing gave me a new name, and now I am a writer and belong to Afghan Women’s writing, where I share my sadness with the world and learned leaders. When I write stories of other Afghan Women, it is like I sit with many people and tell them about my successes, about my broken time, and also about my happiness. Writing helps me to communicate with the world, and this is important for women who live in a war-affected country, where women used to be silent. Thank you to the Afghan Women’s Writing Project.

“Music is a real bridge between love, human emotions, and feelings.”
– Seeta, Writer in the Afghan Women’s Writing Project