Sonita Alizadeh has taken a slightly less traditional but no less effective route to fighting against the patriarchal policies of forced marriages in her home country of Afghanistan: rap. 

Alizadeh was almost married twice, once at 10 years old and again at 16, before she rebelled by releasing a rap video titled “Brides For Sale” about the experience of women being sold into marriage by their families. It was a huge risk—for starters, it is illegal for women to sing publicly in Iran, where she was living by that time. However, it paid off: the song went viral, and she was able to get a scholarship to finish her studies at a U.S. high school. 

She continues to perform her powerful brand of rap and inspire a new generation of women to rebel against the outdated and cruel tradition of child brides in her home country. “I scream to make up for a woman’s lifetime silence,” Alizadeh raps in “Daughters for Sale.”

Rap this patriarchal house down!

‘If I can change my parents minds with my music, then maybe I can change the world.’