Sonita Alizada author page

Sonita Alizada biography

Sonita Alizada is an Afghan rapper and activist. She escaped child marriage in 2015, when her viral music video “Daughters for Sale” helped her secure a scholarship to study in the United States. Through her music and advocacy work, she has campaigned for women’s rights and against child marriage, and she has partnered with the Malala Fund, the Global Partnership for Education and Girls Not Brides. She has received the U.S. Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award and the MTV Europe Music Generation Change Award, and she was included in the BBC’s 100 Women in 2015. She graduated from Bard College in 2023 and is pursuing a master’s degree at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.

Alizada wrote the memoir Sonita: My Fight Against Tyranny and My Escape to Freedom. The book tells the story of how she was almost sold twice, how she fled Afghanistan to pursue her dreams, and how she became an activist. It also includes pictures, poems and songs. Kirkus gave the memoir a release date of 8 July 2025 and named HarperOne as the publisher; Barnes & Noble gives the publication date as 8 July 2025, and the hardcover edition has 288 pages. Sonita: My Fight Against Tyranny and My Escape to Freedom was published on 8 July 2025.