Mozhdah Jamalzadah

Mozhdah Jamalzadah (born December 27, 1982 in Kabul, Afghanistan) is an Afghan singer. During the civil war in Afghanistan, at the age of five, she and her family fled to settle in Canada. Raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Mozhdah studied broadcast journalism at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, and Philosophy and Political Science at the University of British Columbia. She also wrote songs. Among these songs was Dokhtare Afghan (Afghan Girl). Dokhtare Afghan was an instant hit on the Afghan TV stations and airwaves. It brought back the stories of strong Afghan heroines to the homes of many of the Afghans and sparked an interest amongst young Afghan men and women. It also earned Mozhdah many nominations and awards at the Afghan and International TV and radio stations. In December 2009 she was offered a position to work with an up-and-coming television station in Afghanistan, 1TV.

Mozhdah's political and philosophical studies gave her the drive to pursue more difficult ambitions. Once she joined 1TV, she decided she wanted to make her trip to Afghanistan fulfill her desire to make a difference. She became the host of "The Mozhdah Show" which later became the subject of international media, finally giving them something positive to report out of Afghanistan. The concept of the Mozhdah show was created after the Oprah Show, which gave Mozhdah the title "Oprah of Afghanistan" by western media such as CNN and Time Magazine etc. On the Mozhdah Show, Mozhdah and her producers created programming that addressed taboo topics in Afghan society, and what it was like to be a woman, a child, a person living in Afghan society. The Mozhdah Show also provided Mozhdah with the ability to explore and learn more about the current situation in Afghanistan through the eyes of Afghans. On International Women's Day 2010, Mozhdah was asked to be the first Afghan to perform at the White House for the President, Barack Obama and Mrs. Obama, and the song she sang was of the bravery of Afghan Women "Dokhtare Afghan".[1][2][3][4][5]

In 2019, she had an acting role in the drama film Red Snow and had a biography of her life released by Greystone Books entitled "Voice of Rebellion".[6]