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Naghma
Pashto: نغمه ښاپېرۍ
Naghma singing during the 2010 Nowruz celebration at Fairplex in Pomona, California
Naghma singing during the 2010 Nowruz celebration at Fairplex in Pomona, California
Background information
Birth nameShaperei (Fairy)
Born (1951-01-01) January 1, 1951 (age 73)
Kandahar Province, Kingdom of Afghanistan
GenresFolklore, Pop
Years active1980–present
LabelsAfghan Vision Records
Ariana Records
AwardsPride of Performance[1]

Naghma Shaperai (Pashto: نغمه ښاپېرۍ, born 1 January 1951 in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan) is an Afghan singer who started her career in the early 1980s. She sang along her ex-husband, Mangal, during the 1980s and early 1990s. Naghma sings mostly in Pashto, but has also recorded in the Dari Persian language. She is considered to be folklore female artist in Afghanistan and continues to be the voice and face of Pashtun traditional music.[1]

Biography

Naghma was born as Shaperai (Pashto: ښاپېرۍ meaning Head Fairy) on 1 January 1951 in Kandahar Afghanistan, She was the eldest daughter in a family of five boys and three girls. Her father's name was Syed Suleiman Shah a Persian speaking and her mother is Bibi Mashala Pashto speaking It was confirmed by Naghma herself . 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 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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

The couple connected with the Afghan community of Northern California. In 2006 they divorced. Naghma remarried after her divorce to a man from Logar Province.[citation needed]

In March 2014, she became the first Afghan to receive the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz and the Pride of Performance, the highest Pakistani Presidential Awards handed to artists, sportsmen, scientists 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.[citation needed]

Discography

She has recorded over 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

  1. ^ a b Ghanizada, Ahmad Shah (24 March 2013). "Pakistan awards Pride of Performance to Afghan singer Naghma". The Khaama Press News Agency. Retrieved 4 May 2020.

External links

Recipients of the Pride of Performance for Arts
Authority control databases: Artists
Categories