Afghan conductor Shogufa Safi has been named as one of the BBC’s 100 women of 2021. She is the conductor of Zohra, Afghanistan’s first all-female orchestra, made up of 13 to 20-year-olds, many of whom are orphans or come from poverty. Zohra was previously based at the celebrated Afghanistan National Institute of Music, but all its musicians have recently been forced to flee the country – with many leaving behind instruments. The school was closed down after the Taliban regained power earlier this year. Along with her colleagues, Safi escaped to Doha in Qatar.
‘Hope never fails,’ says Shogufa Safi. ‘Even in the total darkness, I believe my baton will be a beacon of hope and light for Afghanistan.’
What is the Zohra orchestra?
The Zohra ensemble is named after a Persian goddess of music and were formed in 2016, with musicians from the Afghanistan National Institute of Musicians.
The orchestra plays a mix of Afghan and western classical music, and have played on many international stages. In 2017, the ensemble played world leaders out at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. The musicians came to the UK for the first time in 2019 to play with the London-based Orchestra of St John’s at the British Library and University of Oxford, bringing with them the instruments of their homeland.
Since being forced to flee Afghanistan earlier this year, the exiled Zohra musicians have reunited in Doha, performing to a live audience with their colleagues from the Afghanistan National Institute of Musicians.
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The demise of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music
The Afghanistan National Institute of Music was founded in 2008 with international support, designed to bring music education to young Afghans. Under the Taliban regime, music had been under threat – and ANIM had been a target, particularly due to its efforts to promote the education of girls. It was a trailblazing institution, providing music education to boys and girls in the same classrooms, which was a rarity in Afghanistan following the years of Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001. Both Afghan and western classical music was studied.
When the Taliban regained control in August 2021, the school fell silent and students made the journey from Kabul to Doha to escape the regime. ‘The students are all fearful and concerned. They clearly understand that if they return to the school, they might face consequences or be punished for what they’ve been doing,’ the school’s founder and director, Dr Ahmad Sarmast, told the BBC in August.
The Afghanistan National Institute of Music was home to Zohra, which Shogufa Safi conducted.
The extent of a potential Taliban-enforced music ban has not been made clear, but Kabul residents are worried the country will revert to its 1996 status when the majority of playing and listening to music was outlawed.
The ANIM has been updating its supporters and donors on the airlifts of students, faculty, staff and family members to Qatar. The hope is for the school to be rebuilt in Portugal. The Zohra Orchestra has now also been evacuated to Doha.