Afghan Women Solidarity Concert and Fringe Programme
(To end oppression and violence against women and girls)
Press release 11 February 2025
Hazara singer Elaha Soroor and composer Dr Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey announced in the line-up for the Afghan Women Solidary Concert Belfast, to end oppression and violence against women and girls.
On International Women’s Day 8th March, Belfast will host the Afghan Women Solidarity Concert to end oppression and violence against women and girls. A fringe programme surrounding the concert will include events with schools, youth organisations, businesses and women in music.
Elaha Soroor is a Hazara singer, composer, and activist whose music and message resonate deeply with global audiences. Born into a Hazara family from Afghanistan in Iran, Elaha grew up with a layered cultural identity, shaped by the resilience and challenges of her community in exile. Returning to Afghanistan as a teenager, she found music to be a powerful means of expression in a society where women’s voices, especially those of Hazara women, were often silenced. Her career took off in 2009 on Afghan Star, where her fearless performances made her a household name but also exposed her to significant risk. As an outspoken advocate for women’s rights and ethnic representation, she faced threats that ultimately led her to relocate to the United Kingdom, where she has continued to develop her artistry and activism.
In the UK, Elaha has expanded her creative reach. Her collaboration with the music collective Kefaya resulted in Songs of Our Mothers (2019), an award-winning album reinterpreting folk songs traditionally sung by women of Afghanistan.
Most recently, Elaha created Bread, Work, Freedom! an anthem made in collaboration with composer Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey, pianist Al MacSween and Afghan rapper Sonita Alizadeh, also performing at the concert. Also in the line songwriting duo. Zarifa Asghari & Eva Kearney, Tabla player Shahbaz Hussain and Rubab player Saphwat Simab
The collaborations with members of the Ulster Orchestra have been scored by Alaska-born conductor Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey
Cayenna is emblematic of the 21st century’s newest vanguard of orchestral leadership. She is a leader in social justice and environmental sustainability within music, both on and off the podium, and her bold orchestral initiatives are pioneering in tackling the pressing issues of our time. Since first travelling to Afghanistan in 2018, she has worked particularly closely with Afghan musicians, composers, and conductors to create genre-defying work that has been described as ‘mesmerising, moving and original’. In collaboration with Afghan composer Arson Fahim, Cayenna commissioned and premiered eight new orchestral works by Afghan composers in 2022—work that was featured by BBC Radio 3’s ‘Music Matters’,
Cayenna serves as the Conducting Fellow of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, is the Director of Performance at St Catherine’s College, University of Oxford, is the Academic Lead for the OAcademy, a global online music conservatory, and is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield where she is writing a book on the historic and contemporary practices of the orchestras of Afghanistan. She is a Conducting Associate and Director of Research for the Oxford Conducting Institute, promoting the development of young conductors and orchestral conducting research.
She holds master’s degrees in orchestral conducting, percussion performance (Ithaca), and a doctorate in the social psychology of orchestral performance (DPhil in Music) from the University of Oxford.
Cayena is featured in a documentary by Swedish filmmaker Christina Olofson, Call Me Madame Maestro (2021), alongside JoAnn Falletta and Victoria Bond, on the current climate for women conductors. Her work has been funded by Arts Council England, British Council, Leverhulme Trust, Oxfordshire Community Foundation, The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities, and many others.
Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey says about the concert:
“In an increasingly noisy world, it can be all too easy—and sometimes more comfortable—to let yesterday’s horrors fade from memory. Yet for women in Afghanistan today, the reality has only grown more dire. Women have long been at the heart of Afghanistan’s musical traditions, passing down songs across generations and using their voices to resist oppression. It is a profound privilege to share the stage with two remarkable artists and human rights activists, Sonita Alizadeh and Elaha Soroor. Their music not only nourishes and inspires but also delivers an urgent message to the world about women’s rights. To witness them performing together in this moment is deeply significant, and I have no doubt it will be an unforgettable
experience for all who attend.”
The line-up of musicians will perform with members of the Ulster Orchestra and 5th Element DJs at the Orchestra’s new home on Townsend Street. The concert will have two, one-hour shows at 4pm and 7pm on 8th March following on from the Belfast International Women’s Day rally organised by Reclaim the Agenda and Raise Your Voice.
Tickets available from 12th February via www.ulsterorchestra.org.uk
Right now music is banned by the regime in Afghanistan. Girls are not allowed to go to school and women have no rights, not even the right to speak in public. Violence against women and girls is encouraged by the regime and child girls for sale for marriage is a growing industry. Belfast was awarded UNESCO City of Music status three months after the Taliban took control of Kabul and banned music.
The concert and fringe programme is supported by a consortium of businesses, foundations, individual donors and agencies.
Further announcements to follow in the lead up to the concert.
ENDS//…
For more information contact:
Jasleen.beyondskin@gmail.com or info.beyondskin@gmail.com
www.beyondskin.net/iwd25
