'Oprah of Afghanistan' speaks out on activism, women's rights

This Afghan singer reveals what it takes to be a 'Voice Of Rebellion' Mozhdah Jamalzadah is a singer, author, and champion of women's rights and is hoping her new book can help inspire others to help in similar ways.

TORONTO – Mozhdah Jamalzadah, who was known as the ‘Oprah of Afghanistan’ for hosting a controversial talk show in the Taliban-controlled country, is speaking out about her continued activism and championing of women’s rights in her new biography, “Voice of Rebellion.”

“There’s just something inside me that always fights for the underdog, fights for those who are less fortunate,” Jamalzadah said on CTV’s Your Morning Wednesday. “It’s just something that I love to do.”

The book chronicles Jamalzadah and her family’s flight from Afghanistan to Vancouver, B.C. when she was five-years-old, her troubled childhood rife with bullying, her groundbreaking success in the music charts, her talk show in Afghanistan and her return to Canada.

The bullying during her childhood in Vancouver “happened more often than I would have hoped,” she said, recalling the time at a baseball game another child called her a racial slur.

“I had a very difficult childhood growing up here [in Canada], but at the same time, escaping war [sic] – being five-years-old and having a rocket fly over my head while I’m playing with my cousin in the yard [ in Afghanistan], not knowing where the rocket is going to land… it’s either dealing with that or dealing with the bullying – I would take the bullying any day,” Jamalzadah said. “I feel like in Canada we’re very fortunate that it doesn’t happen as much as it does in other places in the world.”

In the 2009 song “Afghan girl,” Jamalzadah took a poem her father wrote about an acid attack on Afghani women and set it to music. The song climbed the charts and led to an unexpected audience – the Obamas.

“That was probably the best day of my life,” Jamalzadah said of her 2010 performance at the Whitehouse. “To see my mom sitting next to Michelle Obama… it was surreal.”

After her performance for the Obamas, Jamalzadah received an invitation to return to Afghanistan to host her own talk show.

“The Mozdah Show,” which tackled taboo topics affecting women and children in Afghan society, like divorce and domestic violence, earned her death threats serious enough for her to need armed guards.

The topic of divorce “is pretty much where ‘The Mozdah show’ ended,” she said. “There were so many young females [sic] who were in really bad situations, abuse relationships, who were burning themselves to death.”

“I was trying to talk to the families and say… it’s okay, if your daughter is in such a bad situation, to have her divorce and come home rather than inflict that kind of pain on herself,” Jamalzadah said.

Eventually, the death threats became so severe that Jamalzadah returned to Canada, where she continues to champion women’s rights.

“I think inner strength is the most important thing for me, what makes me survive and go on with any situation,” she said.