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Afghan conductor Shogufa Safi has been named as one of the BBC\u2019s 100 women of 2021.\u00a0She is the conductor of Zohra<\/strong>, Afghanistan\u2019s 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 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n \u2018Hope never fails,\u2019 says Shogufa Safi. \u2018Even in the total darkness, I believe my baton will be a beacon of hope and light for Afghanistan.\u2019<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s at the British Library and University of Oxford, bringing with them the instruments of their homeland.<\/p>\nWhat is the Zohra orchestra?<\/h2>\n