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Khaleq Ebrahimi
Elaha Soroor, the famous Hazarah singer and composer, in her latest song, addressed the issue of banning women’s voices in Afghanistan and dedicated her song to the women’s movement “Bread, Work, Freedom”.
Elaha wrote on her Facebook page that this song is a tribute to the fighting women and girls of Afghanistan. Those who battle for their lost rights and have resisted oppression and discrimination: “Paying tribute to our sisters in Afghanistan who continue to fight for their rights. They stand strong and proud in the face of adversity.”
In this song, Sunita Alizadeh accompanied the Afghan rapper Elaha Soroor and other women worked with her in the technical parts. By publishing this song, Elaha declared her support for the “Bread, Work, and Freedom” women’s movement, asked others to join this movement and also said that she is proud of the fighting women of her country: “I am proud to be a part of the equlaity movement and if you believe in this cause, please join us.”
Elaha has previously worked on Afghan women and released the album “Songs of our Mothers” in collaboration with “Kefaye” music group in 2019. After the release of this album, she and her band received a music award from “Songlines Magazine” of Britain. Songlines is one of the most recognized art magazines in the world and the award is given to serious music artists.
The songs of our mothers” is the only album of Elaha Soroor the music group “Kafaye” which has nine songs, all of which are taken from the folk songs people of Afghanistan. The songs that were sung by women before this, the Elaha recreated them with exceptional performance and better music. In this collection, Elaha has worked more on the Malistani style – one of the most popular styles of Hazarah music – and has reproduced the cover version of the songs attributed to Abe Mirza.
One of the new and impressive works of Elaha is the collection of songs that she performed live with her band at the “Revival of the Roots” concert. The published video tape of this concert was met with an unprecedented reception on social networks. In this collection of local songs, Elahe Sarwar has combined the tamborah with other musical instruments such as ney, oud, tabla and guitar and combined it with the local styles of Hazarahs people. Her performances in this concert surprised the local art fans of Hazarahs.
Previously, the music of Hazarahs, like other cultural assets of these people, rubbed a little deep on the forehead and kissed its roots and mostly floated on the surface. It is true that it made people happy, sad, and sometimes very nostalgic, but it seemed that it was a cuckoo in the nest (or a taffeta woven separately from other nations and people). Many people have tried their luck to combine tamborah with other musical instruments including Sarkhosh, Khavari, Sakhizadeh, Shaukat Sabour, etc., but the work of the goddess is surprisingly attractive and exceptional.
Elaha has been living in London for several years, studied opera music in India and received a bachelor’s degree in animation from the University of the Arts, London. Before this, she has also held protest performances and by publishing the song “Bread, Work, and Freedom” and has supported women’s protests against the severely restrictive laws of the Taliban. She joins the ranks of protesting women while the Taliban has banned women’s voices from education, study, work and travel.
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