Sosan Firooz, the first Afghani female rapper, has recently been hit with a spate of menacing text messages and phone calls demanding that she stop performing. “If your daughter appears on TV again,” one caller said to her mother, “we will cut off your head.” This seems nuts—but considering recent news from her home country, it doesn’t seem impossible. Sosan, 23, performs with her hair uncovered in front of both male and female audiences, and she openly criticizes the Taliban in her songs.
She isn’t letting these anonymous harassers stop her, though: “There’s a need for people to rise up, and others should follow.” Her father, one of her biggest supporters, has quit his job to act as her full-time bodyguard.
In her hit “Our Neighbors,” she draws upon the harassment she and her family experienced as refugees in Iran. “Listen to my story/Listen to my pain and suffering!” she demands in the song. She’s also written lyrics about sexism and non-violence.
Check out the track (and a short interview with Sosan) below. We’re excited to hear more from this brave and talented young artist.
Photo via urbanchristiannews.com
Maggie Carr has written about TV, feminism, fashion, and other kinds of lady business for BUST and Thought Catalog, among others. She's never not tweeting about Kanye West at @racecarr.
