By Haniya Frotan
Renowned singer Elaha Soroor has released a powerful new song to reflect the struggle of Afghanistan’s women against the severe oppression of Taliban rule.
With protests continuing to be held in pockets across the country despite relentless Taliban violence to stamp them out, Ms Soroor said she wanted to empower the women resisting the removal of their rights and freedoms with an anthem.
‘Naan, Kar, Azadi’ or ‘Bread, Work, Freedom’, featuring Afghan rapper Sonita Alizada, was released on October 4 with a music video that includes prominent Afghans who’ve spoken out against the Taliban, such as France-based athlete Marzieh Hamidi and dentist-turned-activist Zahra Haqparast.
In an exclusive interview with Rukhshana Media, Ms Soroor said her protest song was the voice of oppressed Afghan women not just for today, but for generations spanning decades.
She said the title is a slogan that emerged from three years of non-stop protests by women against the Taliban, and its lyrics aim to describe the “prison of the wicked man” that women have faced in Afghanistan, rooted in a patriarchal culture.
The time has come to break the silence and shout out the bitter century of taboos, says one line of the song.
“Living by the norms and desires of a patriarchal society has become truly exhausting; it no longer matters, and we must move beyond this,” Ms Soroor said.
She wrote the song lyrics herself, and it is sung in both Pashto and Persian.
The song begins with the depiction of a woman who has become alienated from herself due to years of oppression and marginalization.
After her rebellion, she returns to her true self with the slogan ‘bread, work, freedom,’ rising up and breaking through the patriarchal world.
Ms Soroor said the slogan was inspiring and that women need to fight, but they don’t fight alone.
“We must struggle side by side. We need to support each other… ‘Bread, Work, Freedom’ and ‘Education, Work, Freedom’ were slogans that constantly echoed in my mind, carrying with them deep meanings, rich histories, and unfulfilled desires and aspirations.”
The slogan has been an enduring feature of the protests women have held both in the streets and online despite a heavy toll of Taliban targeting those involved.
Many protestors have been physically and psychologically tortured, with extreme abuse reported by some the women imprisoned by the Taliban, including proven reports of the Taliban gang raping those detained in an attempt to silence them through shame once they’re released.
singer Elaha Soroor. image: Rukhshana media
Such reports directly influenced lyrics in the song, Ms Soroor said.
Do giso-ye sorkh o jari baghal giri saya at, natars, bekon ashiqi, ma qudratesha darom, khoda ba yad darom
Translation: “Two flowing red braids / Embrace your shadow / Don’t be afraid, fall in love / I have the power to remember myself.”
Ms Soroor said the meaning that inspired this is a message to encourage the girls and women who’ve experienced this abuse not to be silenced and not to succumb to the shame the Taliban wants them to feel.
While many believe the situation for women would improve if the Taliban were to leave, Ms Soroor said this song is relevant beyond the Taliban, who she said simply represent a more grotesque version of the conditions that existed before their rule.
“The differences are only superficial; what is happening today is the same story of being a woman in a misogynistic society called Afghanistan,” she said, acknowledging again the mention of breaking free from the ‘hundred years of bitter taboos.’
By the end of the song, ‘Bread, Work, Freedom’ also presents a picture of a utopia where there is unconditional freedom. However, reaching it requires the necessary understanding of the devastation portrayed at the start of the song where people – especially women – are alienated from themselves and fear love. They are forced into silence, and their flowing red braids are no longer free.
“We have been compelled to remain silent until today, enduring everything that has been imposed on us. We were told to wait, not to speak, that as women, our voices should not be heard,” Ms Soroor said.
“We must shout all of this out. Living according to the norms and desires of a patriarchal society has become truly exhausting. It no longer matters, and we must move beyond it.”
The sense of impatience and frustration is clear as the song builds.
Kok-e sada dar rafta, hawsela am sar rafta… sad saal-e taboo, zendan-e badkho…
Translation: The tune has faded, my patience has worn thin… a hundred years of bitter taboos, the prison of the wicked man.
And it closes out with the repeated phrase: ‘There is no patience in my struggle.’
Ms Soroor said the way women have been forced to forget who they are in the name of a religion or tradition has been a heavy price to pay.
“All these taboos tell me to be ashamed of my existence. What has been forcibly imposed on me and us in the name of religion and tradition has made me forget all my human beliefs about my own worth and led me into a decline,” Ms Soroor said.
“Each day, this shame comes over me, swallowing me up, making me feel embarrassed of myself.”
Her new song calls on women to fight this darkness and also to transcend its power by not giving in or giving up.
