Aryana Sayeed, an Afghan pop sensation, who is set to make her Hindi singing debut with the song titled 'Rukna Nahi' from My Melbourne has been a vocal advocate for women's rights in Afghanistan. 

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Apart from making waves in the music industry, Aryana's unwavering commitment to social justice has scaled her impact beyond Afghanistan's borders.

Even in the face of adversity, she continued to fight for justice and equality.
 
Born in Afghanistan, Aryana moved to Europe at eight where she discovered her passion for music. However, it wasn't until she returned to Afghanistan in 2011 that she realized the true extent of the struggles faced by Afghan women.

Despite the dangers, Aryana began to use her platform to advocate for women's rights. She sang songs that empowered women and challenged the patriarchal norms that perpetuated their oppression. Her music became a beacon of hope for Afghan women, inspiring them to demand their rights and challenge the status quo.

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Aryana's activism didn't go unnoticed. She became a target of the Taliban, who sought to silence her. However, she refused to be intimidated, continuing to speak out against the injustices faced by Afghan women.

In a candid conversation with WION's Navya Beri, the Afghan pop star opened up about her journey, music, and unrelenting fight for women's rights in Afghanistan.

WION: So how does it feel to venture into a new market? 

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Aryana: It feels great. I'm so honoured to be a part of this venture about this amazing project, amazing movie, very impactful, strong, empowering, you know, four different stories in one movie, and such a privilege to be a part of it working with my favourite Kabir Khan, who's the director of this movie.

I've always admired his work. And for me to be a part of one of his movies now is actually it's an honour. And it feels great.

WATCH | Pop star with a purpose: Aryana Sayeed's fight for Afghan women's rights | WION exclusive interview

WION: You've been a vocal advocate for women's rights in Afghanistan. Can you share your experiences and challenges in fighting for this cause?

Aryana: I was eight years old when I left Afghanistan. I was raised in Europe. I already, you know, when I was younger, obviously, I already was surrounded by these very powerful women around me. I have six sisters and my mom, and I never had a brother.

So they were already kind of very influential in my life. But then in 2011, I made my first journey back to Afghanistan as an adult, as a singer. And so when I was there, that's when I really actually realised how unfairly women were being treated.

They didn't have their rights, they didn't have their voice, they were living the worst possible lives you can imagine. And when I realised that, and I heard stories, and I met with women and everything that kind of, you know, triggered this part of me that was always there anyway. And I thought, you know what, I've been given this huge platform, this huge opportunity, this career.

And with using this, I can actually make a difference in this society, which is in dire need. So I started my activism, you know, activities, and I started singing for the rights of Afghan women. I have about 11, 12 songs that are specifically dedicated to the rights of Afghan women, but empowering, very, very powerful lyrics.

And besides that, I used to, you know, work with organisations, raising awareness, doing interviews about women's rights. So it started from there and still going on. Right now, I have my own organisation called DEFA.

It stands for Defenders of Equality, Freedom and Advancement for Afghan Women. And through this organisation, we try to raise awareness, we try to solve some issues here and there, whatever that we can. I actually hear stories like directly from Afghan women from inside Afghanistan.

On a monthly basis, I speak to about 100 of them. And through this organisation, we're trying to get the international community to put pressure on Taliban to let women to work and study and have a normal life. That's amazing.

WION: How did you escape Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, and what was going through your mind during that time?

Aryana: When the Taliban took over Afghanistan, obviously it came very unexpectedly, like it completely shocked all of us. And I am still four years later in shock and disbelief that something like that happened. And during the time they took over, I was in Afghanistan, I was working from there.

And when the issue started, we did not believe that actually Taliban would take over so easily. Because of the fact that Afghan governments were a strong government, there was millions and billions of dollars spent in Afghanistan to make this strong system for the government and everything. And it was very hard for us to believe that the Taliban would actually just come and take over overnight so easily.

And that's exactly what happened, which shocked all of us. And living in Afghanistan for me was a very horrible and horrifying experience because I was a target of the Taliban already. All these years that I was there, they were trying to kill me if they got their hands on me.

So I was living the life of a prisoner. I was not allowed to go to restaurants, to shops, anywhere. I was basically a prisoner in my own room.

But I was still there and I was doing what I was doing. But then when they took over, obviously it got more dangerous for me. So I had to get out immediately.

But unfortunately, I couldn't. And I got stuck for two days with the Taliban being there. And I was hiding in a place.

And then two days later, luckily, we were rescued by a C-17 Army, US Army plane. And they took us out of there, me and my fiance, who was also my manager. So it was a horrifying experience.

It's a long story, but I'm very grateful to be here, to be alive. And I feel like I was almost given a second life, a second chance. So I'm happy that I'm here and I'm able to still continue with my career, with my activism and everything.

WION: As someone who has witnessed the changes in Afghanistan firsthand, what message do you want to convey to the world about the current situation?

Aryana:  I want the world to, you know, first of all, I feel like the world has almost forgotten about Afghanistan, especially Afghan women who are really, really suffering right now. I mean, can you imagine women not allowed, women not allowed to study, to work, not to even go to a park? That's like completely inhumane.

And I see the world keep on talking about humanity. They keep talking about, you know, changing societies and helping, but I see nothing happening with Afghanistan right now. And we're almost in the fourth year now, and it's not acceptable.

So I hope that they hear Afghan women. I hope that they, they try to put pressure on Taliban. They get them to change their rules and regulations and let women be free and be able to study and work and continue a normal life.

And I hope that they will not forget them.