Anisa Wahab (1957–2010) was an

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

actress and singer. Her theatre career started when she was a child. She co-founded Theatre Exile in Pakistan and performed internationally until her death.

Life and work

Anisa Wahab was born in

Kabul, Afghanistan Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

in 1957. She began acting as a child, performing on Afghan television. In 1963, Wahab's father had her audition for the role of a boy on an Afghan TV show, which became her first acting role. She taught children singing from 1973 until 1982 at the local Pioneers Palace in Kabul. She performed at Mazar Theater for two years in the 1990s. She also acted in

soap operas A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

produced by the BBC. As an adult, she performed on stage, television and in films in Afghanistan until 1992 when she went into exile. When the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

took over Afghanistan, Wahab moved to Peshawar, Pakistan. While there, she performed in projects for the BBC and also became involved in programs supporting child rights. She co-founded Theatre Exile in Pakistan, a theater company created by exiled Afghan performers. With Theatre Exile, she performed in ''Beyond the Mirror'', a play written in partnership with New York's Bond Street Theatre. It was the first collaboration between Afghan and American theatres. Eventually, she returned to Kabul. In 2004, Wahab performed in a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

sponsored production to bring awareness to

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

in Afghanistan. She was an spokesperson for

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

. Wahab played

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

and

tambur The ''tambur'' (spelled in keeping with TDK conventions) is a fretted string instrument of Turkey and the former lands of the Ottoman Empire. Like the ney, the armudi (lit. pear-shaped) kemençe and the kudüm, it constitutes one of the four in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wahab, Anisa 1957 births 2010 deaths Afghan human rights activists Afghan child actresses 20th-century Afghan actresses 21st-century Afghan actresses Afghan women musicians People from Kabul UNICEF people