She was one of Afghanistan’s biggest stars. Then the Taliban returned to power and she fled the country. Now, Aryana Sayeed is taking her music and message across Europe - with one key difference: the audiences will be women only.
Sayeed remains one of the most recognisable faces in Afghanistan, building a huge following as a singer, an outspoken advocate for women's rights, and from her time as a judge on The Voice Afghanistan and other major talent shows in the country.
But when the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021, her life and career changed dramatically. Unable to return home or perform there, Sayeed has continued her work from abroad, using her platform and her organisation DEFAW (Defenders of Equality, Freedom, and Advancement for Women) to speak out for Afghan women and girls living under what she calls "dark days."
Five years on, she is taking her message of hope across Europe with her "Ladies Only_"_ tour, a series of concerts exclusively for women. The tour begins this Friday in Rotterdam, where Sayeed will perform at the Laurenskerk. She will then head to Stockholm on 5 September, followed by Hamburg on 26 September and Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt, on 3 October.
