View source for Ramsha Shafa

{{Infobox musical artist
| background       = solo_singer
| honorific_prefix = Dr
| birth_place      = [[Kandahar]], [[Afghanistan]]
| genre            = [[Pop music|Pop]]
| label            = Avang
| occupation       = Singer, human rights activist, psychologist
| name             = Ramsha Shafa<br/>{{small|{{lang|fa|رمشا شفا}}}}
| image            = Ramsha Shafa 1.jpg
}}

Ramsha Shafa ([[Persian language|Persian]]/[[Pashto]]: رمشا شفا) is an [[Afghan]] [[Singing|singer]] and [[songwriter]] who sings in Persian and Pashto. 

<br />

== Life ==
Ramsha was born in [[Kandahar]] and was an only child. The [[Taliban]] killed her parents on suspicion of collaborating with the [[United Nations]] and setting up underground schools. After the death of her parents, she was taken in and cared for by a distant relative. At the age of twelve, she was forcibly married. Her husband was involved in poppy planting and the trafficking of opium. In addition to his two previous wives and Ramsha, he was considering marrying other girls. Ramsha became a mother at the age of thirteen.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=رمشا شفا؛ قربانی مردسالاری که با تقدیر جنگید و ستاره موسیقی شد|url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/afghanistan-50142331|last=|first=|date=|website=|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>

A relative and former classmate of her father, who was visiting Kandahar from Europe, learned of Ramsha's situation and arranged for her to escape with her daughter to [[Kabul]], the capital. In Kabul, Ramsha was forced to live a life in hiding and constantly move around in order to prevent her husband from finding her. <ref name=":0" />

Ramsha, who had not received a formal education up until this point, enrolled in the Al-Fatah Lycée in the Macroyan neighbourhood of Kabul and achieved a one-year scholarship from the [[Federal government of the United States|US government]] for Afghan students to study in the [[United States]]. Ramsha gave her daughter Sahar to the same relative that helped her flee to Kabul and travelled to America to study in [[Virginia]]. <ref name=":0" />

In America, without applying for asylum, she began exploring options to bring her daughter from Afghanistan. Unable to find a way, she returned to Afghanistan as an [[Language interpretation|interpreter]] for the US army. She was present at the most heavily-contested fronts of the war, including [[Helmand Province|Helmand]]. There, she met and later married a [[United States Marine Corps|US Marine]]. <ref name=":0" /> 

After her husband's mission in Afghanistan ended, they went to Okinawa, [[Japan]], and Ramsha was finally able to take her daughter with her. Ramsha's husband had three children from his previous marriage. After a while, Ramsha divorced him because of what she called "his hatred of Afghans, Muslims and the Middle East" after the death of his brother in Afghanistan. As of 2019, he resided in [[Los Angeles|Los-Angeles]]. <ref name=":0" />

Ramsha received her bachelor's, master's and PhD (in [[Social psychology (sociology)|Social Psychology]]) in Virginia, Okinawa and the American University of California, respectively. <ref name=":0" />

== Career ==
Ramsha entered the Afghan music industry in 2015. <ref>{{Cite web|title=055 : War , Fame & Revenge Porn - The Extraordinary life of Ramsha Shifa {{!}} Live From America Podcast|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YZBW5L_4UU&t=476|last=|first=|date=|website=|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> Her first song was called Arezo (آرزو - meaning wish), and was filmed in [[Canada]]. <ref name=":0" />

During the process of divorcing her husband, half-naked photos of Ramsha were posted on the Internet <ref name=":0" />, which was met with anger and judgement from the deeply-conservative Afghan society. Since then, she has started working with the LA-based record label [[Avang Music]] <ref>{{Cite web|title=#iconleaks with Ramsha Shafa EP 8|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcrgIx9yyMI|last=|first=|date=|website=|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>, best known for its extensive Persian music catalogue.

Ramsha appeared in the 1397 and 1398 [[Nowruz]] (Persian New Year) programmes on [[BBC Persian Television|BBC Persian]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=نوروز ۹۷: "عزیزم" - رامشا|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bzWo9xqN2w|last=|first=|date=|website=|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=برنامه ویژه نوروز ۱۳۹۸ بی‌بی‌سی|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDodo3kjMxg&t=7622|last=|first=|date=|website=|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>

== Albums ==

=== Sahar  ===

* Arezo (Dari-Persian)
* Az Pisham Miri (Dari-Persian)
* Nasha (Pashto)
* Mast Mangai (Pashto)
* Bia (Pashto)

=== Asheghoneha ===

* Mohabbat (Pashto and Dari-Persian)
* Asheghoneha (Persian)
* Kash Delet (Persian)
* Male Hamim (Persian)
* Roya Bafi (Persian)
* Doret Begardam (Persian)

=== Singles ===

* Bia (Pashto and Persian) [with [[Andy (singer)|Andy]]]

== References ==

#[https://www.bbc.com/persian/afghanistan-50142331 رمشا شفا؛ قربانی مردسالاری که با تقدیر جنگید و ستاره موسیقی شد]
#[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YZBW5L_4UU&t=476 055 : War , Fame & Revenge Porn - The Extraordinary life of Ramsha Shifa | Live From America Podcast]
#[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcrgIx9yyMI #iconleaks with Ramsha Shafa EP 8]
#[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bzWo9xqN2w نوروز ۹۷: "عزیزم" - رامشا]
#[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDodo3kjMxg&t=7622 برنامه ویژه نوروز ۱۳۹۸ بی‌بی‌سی]

== Further reading ==

*[https://www.darivoa.com/a/ramsha-shefa-profile/3166833.html رامشا و ماجرای سفرش از کندهار تا امریکا]

== External links ==
<!-- Use the format: * [http://www.example.com/ example.com] -->

* [https://www.instagram.com/dr.ramshashafa/?hl=en Ramsha Shafa's Instagram]

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