Afghanistan Pop Star Aryana Sayeed Escapes Kabul
Aryana Sayeed is among the lucky few as expats from around the world struggle to find flights out of the country.
As Afghanistan fell to the Taliban on August 15, visuals of crowded Kabul runway, cargo jets crammed with people and horrifying scenes of children being handed over barbed wires have filled the internet. Afghanistan's biggest female pop star Aryana Sayeed - aged 36. She had recently starred as a judge on a singing competition show on Afghan television. She confirmed her escape to Doha, Qatar after the Taliban takeover of Kabul. From Doha she went to Turkey to stay with her husband. Aryana Sayeed told her 1.3 million Instagram followers, "I am well and alive. Before I left Afghanistan I had a horrible time. After I get home and my mind and emotions return back to normal I will share many stories with you.” The singer is among the lucky few who were able to escape many were not able to escape. One human rights activist Tweeted saying, “The Taliban has very strict rules for women. Women were not even allowed to walk on the road alone or enter a stadium. Aryana Sayeed in 2015, entered a stadium alone, without a hijab & sang a song. She has always worked hard to advocate for women’s rights to do what they want. Sadly, now that the Taliban are back in power women will not be able to do all this again.”
