This week’s Good Job podcast guest is Aryana Sayeed. Aryana is one of Afghanistan’s biggest pop stars, a judge on both The Voice Afghanistan and The Afgan Star and an inspiring woman who uses her profile to campaign for Women’s Rights. She speaks across the world about the experiences of Afgan women, shirking expectations placed upon her, defying death threats and enduring scrutiny down to her choice of clothes. She continues to perform music in Afghanistan a country in which music was banned until 2001 and has won many awards for her activism such as an Atlantic Council Freedom Award and a Bravery Award from the Government of Afghanistan. Aryana’s story is inspiring and harrowing in equal measure. Born in Kabul, she fled Afghanistan’s civil war at age 8 with her family, stopping in Pakistan, then Switzerland. After her family’s asylum case was rejected, they hired a smuggler to get to London where they settled. Aryana has made it her life mission to fight inequality in her home country and across the world.
““I have had to face death threats, I have to face discrimination… it’s definitely not easy. But the fact that the majority of people are open to female artists now, that actually makes up for all the negativity” ”
Podcast Episode Highlights:
01.55 - What is Aryana Sayeed’s worst ever job?
02.32 - Was it always Aryana’s dream to be a singer?
04.54 - Beth asks about Aryana’s work championing women and working for equal human rights
07.40 - What was it like for Aryana during the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, during which time music was banned?
10.11 - Have the different countries and cultural influences Aryana has experienced affected her music, and does she feel these things stemmed from childhood?
13.36 - Did Aryana find it difficult having childhood experiences of war and moving to a country where other children couldn’t relate to them?
14.50 - How does Aryana deal with abuse and trolls?
16.34 - Does Aryana doubt her ability to make an impact?
17.30 - Quickfire round
18.29 - Fun fact
20.45 - How does Aryana Sayeed approach her creative process?
21.57 - What changes for Aryana in how her music is received in different countries?
24.15 - What is the difference between singing in the three languages Aryana performs in? Would she ever sing in English?
25.42 - Why is singing live important for Aryana?
27.31 - Does Aryana ever get performance anxiety?
28.30 - Greatest challenge and greatest accomplishment
32.04 - If Aryana could wake up with one quality or ability, what would it be?
Quotes:
“So many things happened to me and to our family at a very young age. By the time I was a teenager I had seen so much already that maybe a person here would not see in a lifetime. I always try to take the positive and those were the things that made me who I am today”
Aryana Sayeed
“I always keep asking the question - what is the reason they’re showing me so much hatred? What is the reason why I’m getting these threats? I might be doing something great here”
Aryana Sayeed
“In Afghanistan, there’s not much happiness or positivity and the thing that brings happiness to people is music”
Aryana Sayeed
“In Afghanistan, people always used to look down upon female singers. My number one priority was always to change that, I always wanted to do things to make people understand that a female artist can be someone that has to be respected, somebody that is a normal human being like everyone else”
Aryana Sayeed
“Believe it or not, before I walked onto that field, I accepted that today I might die. But this was so important to me that I thought do you know what… I’m going to do this”
Aryana Sayeed
“I want to wake up with an ability to change the world in a way that there would be no war anymore. I want to see a peaceful world, that’s all I want and wish for”
Aryana Sayeed
“You cannot sit back and wish for things to happen, you have to take action”
Aryana Sayeed
“Always follow your heart. No matter what people say, follow your heart and do the things you desire and that your heart desires”
Aryana Sayeed
Resources Mentioned:
