Negin Khapalwak had just got admission into the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, the only music school in her country. It was unusual for a girl to get an education; to get a musical education even more so. “I had heard music on the radio, but I had never seen a girl play,” she says. A year later, the all-women’s orchestra named after Zohra, a Persian goddess of music, was born with just six girls. “They are aware of the transformative power of music and this scares them,” says Sarmast.

Source: Hindustan Times December 01, 2017 13:07 UTC