Qamar Gula (; fa, قمر گل, ; 21 January 1952 – 9 December 2022) was an

Afghan Canadian Afghan Canadians are Canadians with ancestry from Afghanistan. They form the second largest Afghan diaspora, Afghan community in North America after Afghan Americans. Their ethnic origin may come from any of the Ethnic groups in Afghanistan, et ...

musician, who has been credited with being the second female

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

language singer (after

Rukhshana Hamida Assil ( 20 December 2020), better known as Rukhshana, was an Afghans, Afghan singer. Referred as one of the first Afghan female singers, she earned her recognition during 1950s and 1970s. Biography Rukhshana (born as Hamida) was born ...

) to sing for the

Radio Television Afghanistan National Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA; ps, ''Da Afġanistan Mīlī Radīo Telvizoon'', fa, ''Rādīo Telvizoon-e Mīlī-e Afġānestān'', branded as ملی (meaning ''national'')) is the public-broadcasting organization of Afghanistan ...

. A veteran of

Afghan music The music of Afghanistan comprises many varieties of classical music, folk music, and modern popular music. Afghanistan has a rich musical heritage and features a mix of Persian melodies, Indian compositional principles, and sounds from ethni ...

, she had a career that spanned nearly five decades.

Early life

Qamar Gula was born in Nangarhar Province of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. She started singing at the age of seven or eight, and due to wide audience appreciation she was encouraged to pursue it professionally.

Career

Gula's career reached its zenith when she married

Mohammad Din Zakhil Mohammad Din Zakhil ( – famous as ''Ustad Zakhil'') was a singer/composer from Afghanistan. Zakhil composed over 700 songs for many Afghan singers. ''Da Zamoong Zeeba Watan'', ''Pa Loyo Ghro Banday Ra Taw Shwal Toofanona,'' and ''Sanga Meena Z ...

who composed many of her songs. By the early 1970s, she gained fame across Afghanistan and ranked among the top female singers of the country. Her music was also heard by ethnic

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, particularly in what is now

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

. Gula’s music included compositions from Zakhil as well as other Afghan composers. Gula maintained her popularity among Afghans, particularly among the older generation who associated her music with the nostalgic times of Afghanistan before the civil war. Her voice was often referred to as “The Golden Voice” by the Afghan media. Over the years, she collaborated with various Afghan singers including

in the 1970s,

Gul Zaman According to the United States US Department of Defense, Department of Defense, it held more than two hundred Afghan detainees in Guantanamo prior to May 15, 2006. They had been captured and classified as enemy combatants in warfare following th ...

in the 1980s, and in 2010s with Zarsanga,

Waheed Qasemi Wahid or Waheed is an Arabic masculine given name, meaning "One", "Absolute One". Al-Wahid is one of the 99 names of Allah. Given name * Waheed Akhtar (1934–1996), * Waheed Alli, Baron Alli (born 1964), British multimillionaire media entreprene ...

, and

Hangama Hangama (Dari/Pashto: ) is a singer from Afghanistan. Originally born as Zuhra, her mother chose the name of Hangama for her when she became a singer. She currently lives in Toronto, Canada where she continues her music career. Before her emigr ...

Immigration to Canada

Gula immigrated to Canada due to the civil war in Afghanistan. She lived in the province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, where she continued her music career.

Death

Gula died of a prolonged illness on 9 December 2022, at the age of 70. She left behind three sons and three daughters.

Awards

Gula won many awards throughout her lifetime, including the following: * Golden Medals: '' Zahir Shah,

Daoud Khan Mohammed Daoud Khan ( ps, ), also romanized as Daud Khan or Dawood Khan (18 July 1909 – 28 April 1978), was an Afghan politician and general who served as prime minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and, as leader of the 1973 Afghan coup d ...

, Babrak Karmal and Mohammad Najibullah * Nightingale title: ''

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...

- President of Afghanistan'' * Best Singer: '' Ariana Television'' * Best Singer: Afghan community of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

References

External links

* (Radio Television Afghanistan) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gula, Qamar 1952 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Afghan women singers 21st-century Afghan women singers Afghan emigrants to Canada Deaths from cancer in Ontario Pashto-language singers Pashtun women People from Nangarhar Province