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Zohre Esmaeli (born 1 July 1985) is a model, designer and author from
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 lives in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. She was said to be the only international top model from Afghanistan in 2014.


Biography


Early years

Zohre Esmaeli was born on July 1, 1985 in
Kabul 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 ...
, the youngest of seven children. Her mother, who was her father's second wife, died in a traffic accident when she was two years old. She was raised by her dad's first wife and has four brothers and two sisters. Like her sisters, as a girl, she could not attend a public school, but after pleading with her father he agreed to her being home schooled by private tutors.


Escape from Afghanistan

When Esmaeli was thirteen years old, her parents sold all their belongings and decided to leave Afghanistan to escape from the war and the Taliban regime. Her father left Kabul with three of his children and his second wife on the load bed of a truck. They paid a Russian
people smuggling People smuggling (also called human smuggling), under U.S. law, is "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries' laws, ei ...
gang to bring them to Germany to join her brothers who already lived there. Their difficult and 10000 km long journey took six months, via
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, and the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
, but in 1999, they finally crossed the border to
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. During the dangerous journey with long wintry walks through woods, and rides hidden in train waggons and car boots, Zohre Esmaili nearly drowned crossing a border river in Slovakia. The family were imprisoned for several days in the Ukraine where Esmaili became seriously ill due to malnutrition and bad hygienic conditions. After arriving in Germany, the family first stayed in three asylum seekers' hostels in
Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
, Schwalbach, and
Calden Calden is a municipality in the district of Kassel in Hesse, Germany. It is located 12 km northwest of the city of Kassel, and the Kassel Airport is situated near Calden. Schloss Wilhelmsthal Schloss Wilhelmsthal is a Baroque château loca ...
, before moving to their own flat in
Vellmar Vellmar is a town in the Kassel (district), Kassel district, in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the Ahne river. History Vellmar gained city rights on August 30, 1975 to mark its 1200th anniversary, becoming, together with Baunatal, the youngest c ...
near
Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
.


Life in Germany

Zohre Esmaeli attended a
comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...
and after an
internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...
she wanted to pursue the career of an airplane
electronics engineer Electronics engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering which emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active component, active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control e ...
. Her school years were difficult for her as she and her brother were the only foreigners in the class at her first school and also after moving to Vellmar she was
bullied Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imbal ...
at her school in
Ahnatal Ahnatal is a municipality in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated roughly 9 km northwest of Kassel, Germany. Division of the municipality It consists of three constituent villages, Weimar, Heckershausen, and Kammerb ...
. Although now staying in Germany, her father and older brothers insisted on her living according to the Afghan tradition and had chosen a husband for her to marry. In order to escape from the family pressures and live according to her own wishes Zohre Esmaeli left at age 17 her family in spring of 2003 and moved into a children's home. After 12 days she ran away and went into hiding in
Zuffenhausen Zuffenhausen is one of three northernmost boroughs of the city of Stuttgart, capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The borough is primarily an incorporation of the formerly independent townships Zuffenhausen, Zazenhausen, Neuwirtshau ...
near
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
living with the family of her then boyfriend. During her first year living there she did not have any contact with her family. Later Esmaeli established again a normal relationship with her father although she does not discuss her work at home. Esmaeli speaks four languages,
Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī  ...
(her mother tongue),
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
, English, and German. During three weeks in July 2013 a 4x5 meter large picture of Esmaeli could be seen by
S-Bahn The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...
travellers in Düsseldorf on an empty windowless house wall which was painted by
airbrush An airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that atomizes and sprays various media, most often paint but also ink and dye, and foundation. Spray painting developed from the airbrush and is considered to employ a type of airbrush. History U ...
artist Andi Ponto. It was a birthday present of her boyfriend who lived in a house opposite of the wall. By order of the house owner the painting had to be whited out by the artist. Her brother, Abdul Gharfour Esmaeli, is a cruiserweight boxer who started his professional career at the Internationale Box-Gala in Kassel in November 2012.


Career

When Zohre Esmaeli was 16 years old the then current Miss
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
n approached her during a shopping trip in a H&M store in Kassel and asked if she was a model and wanted to have photos taken. She agreed and two days later she went to a model agency and started to do secret shootings without telling her parents. Her first shooting took place in
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
. This, however, soon came to an end when her family found out and forbade her to continue. About a year after she had left her family and moved to Stuttgart she resumed her modeling career. Her first big clients were the furniture manufacturer Bretz who made her the centre of a large advertising campaign from 2003 until 2007 and the German designer Manfred Bogner who featured her from 2007 in many adverts for his fashion line ''BONNIE'' which were published in magazines like ''
Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...
''. Soon she appeared in other fashion and lifestyle journals as ''
Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...
'', ''
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...
'', ''Madame'', ''Zink'', ''Lounge'', ''
InStyle ''InStyle'' was an American monthly women's fashion magazine founded in 1994. It was published in the United States by Dotdash Meredith. In February 2022, it was announced that InStyle would cease print publications and move to a digital-only ...
'' and ''
Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...
''. On 30 April 2004 Esmaeli took for Afghanistan part in the ''Queen of the World''
beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...
in Munich. In 2006, Belgian designer Gerald Watelet discovered Esmaeli and she ran the
catwalk A fashion show ( French ''défilé de mode'') is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and Fa ...
for his label at the
Fashion Week A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, where fashion designers, brands or "houses" display their latest collections in runway fashion shows to buyers and the media. These events influence the upcoming fashion ...
in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. She currently appears in fashion shows and
photo shoot A photo shoot is the process taken by creatives and models that results in a visual objective being obtained. An example is a Model (person), model posing for a photographer at a studio or an outdoor location. A photo shoot is a series of images ...
s in New York, Paris, Milan and Berlin. In February 2014 Zohre Esmaeli published her book ''Meine neue Freiheit. Von Kabul über den Laufsteg zu mir selbst'' in which she describes her story, the situation in Kabul, the months-long flight from Afghanistan and her life as a refugee in Germany. Esmaeli works also as independent fashion adviser in Düsseldorf. Zohre Esmaeli designed her own fashion collection "Zoraya" which was first presented at a charity fashion show on 13 November 2015 in Berlin to help raise funds for her new project "Culture Coaches" which supports refugees.


Social engagements

Zohre Esmaeli works with several German charities. She supports the charity ''Afghanistan - Hilfe die ankommt e.V.'' in
Bad Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, most well known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke, which is one of the few remaining bridges in th ...
by taking part in fund-raising events like fashion shows and is especially involved in their sewing project. She also supports the international charity program ''Women for Women'', which was developed by Dr. Marita Eisenmann-Klein, the Secretary General of IPRAS, the International Society for Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery and Dr. Constance Neuhann-Lorenz, the Chairperson of Quality Assurance of IPRAF, the International Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery Foundation In 2014 Esmaeli was made ambassador of the German Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency.


Save Society

Esmaeli is ambassador of the German charity ''Save Society'' which fights against discrimination. Other ambassadors of the charity are the German
épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains ...
fencer
Monika Sozanska Monika Sozanska (born 13 March 1983) is a Polish- German épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a wea ...
,
runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
Marius Broening, actress Vanessa Eichholz and film producer Catherine Ackermann. Official supporters include the members of the German
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
Stefan Kaufmann and Hartmut Koschyk.


Culture Coaches

Based on her own experience as refugee Esmaeli founded the project "Culture Coaches" to help the sustainable integration of refugees. The project wants to give newly arrived families from the start an insight into German culture and the values of German society by developing a bicultural
didactics A didactic method ( el, διδάσκειν ''didáskein'', "to teach") is a teaching method that follows a consistent scientific approach or educational style to present information to students. The didactic method of instruction is often contra ...
and a tutor team. It is supported by the ''Bürgerstiftung Berlin'', a charitable foundation under the patronage of
Wolfgang Thierse Wolfgang Thierse (; born 22 October 1943) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as the 11th President of the Bundestag from 1998 to 2005. Early life and career Thierse was born in Breslau (Wrocław in present ...
, which was started 1999 by Berlin citizens. The costs of the project have been raised by crowd funding and through a refugee fundraising event on 13 November 2015 in Berlin which raised the indented target of 40.000 Euros.


TV appearances and radio broadcasts

* ''Guten Abend'', RTL (TV, 12.2011) * '' Frank Elstner: Menschen der Woche'', SWR (TV, 11.02.2012) * ''Couchgespräche'', SWR-RP (TV, 19.11.2012) * ''glanz & gloria'', SRF (TV, 22.05.2013) * ''WDR Lokalzeit'', WDR (TV, 21.08.2013 * ''
Markus Lanz Markus Lanz (born 16 March 1969) is a German-Italian television presenter based in Germany. Early life Lanz is a member of the German-speaking majority in the Italian province of South Tyrol. He grew up in Geiselsberg, a village located 1,3 ...
'',
ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
(TV, 20.02.2014) * ''mittagsmagazin'', ZDF (TV, 21.02.2014) * ''Eins zu Eins. Der Talk'', BR Bayern 2 (Radio, 30.03.2014) * ''SWR1 Leute'', SWR (Radio, 10.10.2014) * ''hallo deutschland'', ZDF (TV, 12.11.2014) * ''
Hart aber fair ''hart aber fair'' (English: "hard but fair") is a German weekly political talk show. In the 75-minute broadcast on Monday evening on Das Erste, presenter Frank Plasberg discusses a controversial topic with his guests. Spectators receive add ...
'', ARD (TV, 23.02.2015) * ''So gesehen - Talk am Sonntag'',
Sat.1 Sat.1 is a German free-to-air television channel that is a part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group. It is considered the first privately owned television network in Germany, having been launched in January 1984 as ''PKS'' ''(Programmgesellschaf ...
(TV, 12.04.2015) * ''Christiane Amanpour: Sex & Love Around the World'', episode 4, Berlin (Netflix, 07.04.2018)


Music and film videos

* ''Swarm'' (2011, music video by Jens Hocher for
Badmarsh & Shri Badmarsh & Shri are an English electronic dance music duo from London. The pair consists of DJ Mohammed Akber Ali, aka Badmarsh, who was born in Yemen, and tabla player Shrikanth Sriram, aka Shri, who is from India. They have released two alb ...
, awarded the Intervideo - Young Talent award) * ''The Grief of the Wind'' (2011, short film by Jens S. Achtert)


Book

*


Exhibition

* ''Zohre escaped'' (2013) 6.4.-14.4.2013 Pfaffenhofen, photos by Richard Kienberger


References


External links

*
Save Society

Culture Coaches

Express Dress
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esmaeli, Zohre Living people 1985 births Afghan female models Afghan women writers Afghan writers People from Kabul Afghan refugees Afghan emigrants to Germany 21st-century Afghan women writers