Naghma

, background = solo_singer
, image = Naghma 2010-3.jpgborder
, caption = Naghma singing during the 2010 Nowruz celebration at Fairplex in Pomona, California
, birth_name = Shaperei (''Fairy'')
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Kandahar Province, Kingdom of Afghanistan
, genre = Folklore, Pop
, years_active = 1980–present
, label = Afghan Vision Records
Ariana Records

Naghma Shaperai (Pashto: نغمه ښاپېرۍ, born 1 January 1951 in Paktia Province, Afghanistan) is an Afghan singer who started her career in the early 1980s. She sung along her ex-husband, Mangal, during the 1980s and early 1990s. Naghma sings mostly in Pashto, but has also recorded in the Dari Persian language. She is considered to be folklore female artist in Afghanistan and continues to be the voice and face of Pashtun traditional music.

Biography

Naghma was born as Shaperai (Pashto: ښاپېرۍ meaning Head Fairy) on 1 January 1951 in paktia Afghanistan,She was the eldest daughter in a family of five boys and three girls. Her father's name was Syed Suleiman Shah and her mother is Bibi Mashala. Her father died when Naghma was five years old. As a young girl, she developed an interest in music. At sixteen she moved to Kabul with her paternal uncle. She continued her secondary education at Rabia Balkhi Lece where she was performing in the girl's band as a vocalist. A year before finishing her high school she married Mangal, an already popular Pashto singer from Laghman Province, and left school to advance her musical career. They were instant celebrities, recording hits that are famous to this day. Her early songs were based on southern Afghan music, most of which were folkloric in nature.

Eventually they settled in Islamabad, Pakistan. There, they became very successful with an enthusiastic crowd of Afghan exiles who were nostalgic for their native music. Their financial situation by this time had improved significantly. In 2000, they left Pakistan and immigrated to the United States.

The couple connected with the Afghan community of Northern California. In 2006 they divorced. Naghma remarried after her divorce to a man from Logar Province.

In March 2014, she became the first Afghan to receive the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz and the Pride of Performance, the highest Pakistani Presidential Awards handed to artists, sportsmen, scientists, and writers. It was a proud moment for Naghma who has always been a strong voice for the Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Naghma encourages Afghan refugees to try and go back to Afghanistan through her aid work and music to rebuild the country.

Discography

She has recorded over 500 songs in a period of 32 years in Afghanistan, Pakistan and also in the United States.
''This list is incomplete''

Album: Bachi Hamsaya

* '' Bachi Hamsaya ''
* '' Aros ''
* '' O Bacha ''
* '' Maida Maida ''
* '' Nazi Jan ''
* '' Ba Yin Sazi Mahali ''
* '' Ghataghani ''
* '' Shekesta Chelamey''
* '' Imroz ''
* '' Tu Ra Meparastam ''
* '' O Dilbar Janim ''
* '' O Bacha ''
* '' Jama Narinje ''

Album: Best Of Naghma

* '' Charsi Halika Stargi ''
* '' Janana ke Pashton ''
* '' Halka Daroghjan Mee ''
* '' Raghlay Yama Damor ''
* '' Za Ba Gidi Rawdim ''
* '' Chita Che Zi Mat ''
* '' Raza Da Zandgi Sra ''
* '' Yara Rana Wrak Nashi ''
* '' Janana Rasha Da Shamali ''
* '' Hagha Sra Oshan ''
* '' Allah Wi Zamazda ''

Album: Kabul Nazaneen

* '' Salam Afghanistan ''
* '' Delbar Jan ''
* '' Ghataghani ''
* '' Yaram Nest ''
* '' Darbigeri ''
* '' O Dilbar Janam ''
* '' Nazi Jan ''
* '' O Bachi Afghan ''
* '' Maida Maida Baran ''
* '' Em Roz Che Roz Ast ''

Album: O Khoda Jan

* '' Az America Wa Alman ''
* '' O Khuda Jan ''
* '' Sharshara Baran ''
* '' Shab Amadam ''
* '' Bebe Roko Jan ''
* '' Kashki Ma ''
* '' Man Dokhtari Sherazam ''
* '' Mara Az Ashiqi Bas ''
* '' Mohabat ''
* '' Pesta Forosh ''

Popular Singles:

* '' Mazdigar De Ka Nade ''
* '' O Bacha Jane Bacha ''
* '' Lalaya Hawa Baza ''
* '' Kandahar Halika ''
* '' Adam Khana Charsi ''
* '' Mohabbat ''
* '' Mohabbat (Slow Version) ''
* '' Lalo Lalo ''
* '' Mala Chal Ne Razi ''
* '' Akh Janan Me Laro ''
* '' Zma Afghanistana''
* '' Loya Khudaya ''
* '' Orbal Chapa Kra Bya Rasta ''
* '' Akhshe na ni na (Attan De Gada Da)''
* '' Mubarak Di Sha Akhtar ''
* '' Lalai de ''
* '' Dilbar Zalim Zalim ''
* '' Wa Grana ''
* '' Nor e Newranawo ''
* '' Ay Da Watan Da Abay Roka Zoya ''
* '' Afghani Mashoma ''

;Contributing artist
* '' The Rough Guide To The Music Of Afghanistan'', 2010

References

External links

{{Authority control

1964 births
Living people
20th-century Afghan women singers
Recipients of the Pride of Performance
Pashtun women
Afghan expatriate musicians in Pakistan
Recipients of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz
21st-century Afghan women singers