Amidst the threat and accusation that they are insulting their family by the public performance, the women of Afghanistan’s first all-female orchestra are set to perform at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Zohra, an ensemble of 35 young musicians aged 13 to 20 including orphans,will be performing before 3,000 CEOs and heads of state during a session on Thursday and at the closing concert on Friday, AFP reported.
The musicians performed in unison earlier in January at one of their last rehearsals in Kabul before the concert.
Music industry was banned in Afghanistan during the Taliban’s repressive rule and is still frowned upon in the conservative society.
Zohra’s lead artist Negina Khpalwak told media that her parents stood against her entire family to allow her to practice music.
“My grandmother told my dad: ‘If you let Negina leave to music school, you won’t be my son anymore,” she was quoted by AFP as saying.
Khpalwak’s family was forced to migrate to Kabul to continue her music lessons.
