Soosan Firooz (also Susan Feroz); ( prs, سوسن فیروز) is 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

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

. She has been described as Afghanistan's first female rapper. She is a controversial figure, challenging societal norms and the traditional role of Afghan women. Firooz was born in Afghanistan. Her family fled the country and lived in an Iranian refugee camp for seven years during the Afghanistan's civil war in the 1990s. In Iran, she encountered hostility from Iranians and was unable to attend school with any regularity due to bureaucratic entanglements. Her family then spent three years in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

as refugees. Following the fall of the

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

, Firooz's family returned to Afghanistan. They moved to

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

in 2003, where her father had secured employment. She worked alongside her siblings, weaving rugs. The family moved to

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 ...

in 2011 and she became an actress, taking small roles in local television

soap opera 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 ...

s and movies. Firooz asked for and received permission to rap from her father, Abdul Ghafar Firooz. She came to the attention of Afghan musician Farid Rastagar, who has promoted her and composed her first single. Firooz raps in

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 first single, "Our Neighbors", was released in 2012. The song explores the plight of Afghan refugees in stark terms. It was composed by Rastagar with lyrics by poet Suhrab Sirat. Her song, "Naqisul Aql" means "mentally disturbed" and is an epithet used against women in Afghanistan. Firooz lives with her family in north Kabul. She has been threatened with acid attacks, kidnapping, and death. Her mother, who does humanitarian work in southern Afghanistan, has also received

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a de ...

s. Her father gave up his job at the electrical department and acts as her manager and bodyguard, accompanying her to studios. Her uncle cut off relations with her family out of disapproval of Firooz appearing on television and singing. Firooz performed at a three-day music festival in Kabul in October 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Firooz, Soosan Living people Afghan refugees Afghan actresses People from Kabul Afghan Tajik people Afghan women rappers Afghan women singers Afghan film actresses Persian-language singers Afghan television actresses 21st-century Afghan actresses 21st-century Afghan women singers Year of birth missing (living people)

See also

References