Naghma

Naghma
Pashto: نغمه ښاپېرۍ‎

Naghma singing during the 2010 Nowruz celebration at Fairplex in Pomona, California
Background information
Birth name Shaperei (Fairy)
Born 1 January 1964
Afghanistan Kabul, Afghanistan
Genres Folklore, Pop
Years active 1980–present
Labels Afghan Vision Records
Ariana Records

Naghma (Pashto: نغمه, born 1 January 1964) is a prominent Afghan singer who started her career in the early 1980s. She and her ex-husband, Mangal, were a popular musical duo who dominated the Afghan music scene during the 1980s and early 1990s. Naghma sings in Pashto and Dari (Persian). Her music is popular in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and among Pashtuns in Pakistan. She is one of the most popular female artists in Afghanistan and continues to be the voice and face of Pashtun traditional music.

Early years

Naghma was born as Shaperai (Pashto: ښاپېرۍ meaning Head Fairy) on 1 January 1964 in Afghanistan. The city of her birth cannot be verified. 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 consequently 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. Coming from a traditional family, she met with much resistance from relatives who saw singing as taboo for Afghan woman. Naghma has often stated in interviews that till today her mother is still not happy with her career choice. However, Naghma was not discouraged by this. In Mangal she found a supporting husband and as duo the pressure from society was much more bearable as opposed to being solo.

With impending civil war, the couple left Afghanistan for India in 1992. 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.

Personal life

After establishing contact with the Afghan community of Northern California, the duo held a series of performances. In 2006, after years of ups and downs in their marriage, the couple divorced. Though no specific reasons have been shared by the couple, some believe Mangal's alleged alcohol abuse was the reason for why the marriage dissolved. The couples have held a dignified silence about their divorce and never mention anything relating to it in public. Their divorce has also cast a doubt as to whether this former pair can reconcile at least on a professional level. While Mangal performs solo in private events and television programs, Naghma is continuing her career as a professional artist.

Naghma remarried after her divorce and maintain to be very protective of her current husband. She recently revealed he is from Logar Province.

Naghma's daughter married Afghan singer Safiq Mureed in a private ceremony in 2014. Naghma's main home and her children are in California but she has also made a place for herself in Kabul and Islamabad.

In March 2014 she became the first Afghan ever to receive the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Pride of Excellence), the highest Pakistani Presidential Award handed to artists, sportsmen, 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 again.

Discography

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

Album: Bachi Hamsaya

Album: Best Of Naghma

Album: Kabul Nazaneen

Album: O Khoda Jan

Popular Singles:

Contributing artist

References

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