Name:

Date:

Activist Research Part 2

Pick ONE!

Activist: Pick one (out of the three) activists that you briefly researched. Who would you like to
learn more about? Once you have chosen ONE activist, write their name below and begin to fill
out the chart about him or her.

My chosen Activist is: Avery McRae

Research your chosen activist and fill in the charts below about him or her. Make sure to save
the sources you find, and yes, you can use the facts you have already gathered.

Childhood - Pertinent Information

Information: Alizadeh grew up in Herat, Afghanistan, under the rule of the Taliban. Her family first
considered selling her as a bride when she was 10. Alizadeh has said that at the time, she didn't
[5]
fully understand what that meant. Instead, her family fled to Iran to escape the Taliban. In Iran,
Alizadeh worked by cleaning bathrooms, while she taught herself to read and write. During this
time, she also discovered the music of Iranian rapper Yas and American rapper Eminem. I

Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonita_Alizadeh

Significant experiences

Information
She discovered the music of Iranian rapper Yas and American rapper Eminem. Inspired by their
music, she started writing her own songs. In 2014, Alizadeh entered a U.S. competition to write a
song to get Afghan people to vote in their elections. She won a $1,000 prize, which Alizadeh sent
[5]
to her mother, who had moved back to Afghanistan Shortly She was 16. Her mother was trying
to earn a $9,000 dowry so that her elder brother could purchase a bride, and thought she could
get at least $9,000 by selling her daughter. After Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami, director of the
documentary Sonita, paid $2,000 to Sonita's mother and asked for six months of time for Sonita,
she wrote "Brides for Sale" and Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami filmed the music video, which gained
international attention.

Links:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonita_Alizadeh

Significant People and Influences

 Information: With the help of Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami, an Iranian documentary filmmaker who
over three years documented her story in the film Sonita, Alizadeh filmed the video to escape a
marriage her parents were planning for her, even though it is illegal for women to sing solo in Iran,
[2]
where she was living at the time. After releasing the video on YouTube, Alizadeh was contacted
by the Strongheart Group, which offered her a student visa and financial help to come and study in
the United States of America, where she then relocated and has resided since.

Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonita_Alizadeh

Vehicles or Stoppers for their cause

Information: Yet, during the three years she spent directing her latest documentary, the Iranian film-
maker ended up paying $2,000 to “buy” her teenage protagonist’s freedom.
Sonita follows the life of an Afghan refugee in Tehran. She dreams of becoming a famous rapper, but
her mother and brother have other plans – to sell her into marriage in Afghanistan. So the 40-year-old
director steps in, giving the family cash to delay the marriage. At first reluctantly and then with single-
minded determination, Ghaem Maghami directs her subject to safety. By the end, Sonita Alizadeh has
traveled to Afghanistan and on to the US to take up a scholarship, without her family’s permission.

Links:https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/24/sonita-director-interview-rokhsareh-ghaem-
maghami

Lasting Legacies or Future Plans

Information: In addition to attending classes, she continues to write songs. A documentary, called
Sonita, premiered at the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam in November
2015.The film gained positive reviews.The film was entered into the Sundance Film Festival and
won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for a documentary film.The film also showed at the
Seattle International Film Festival in 2016, and Seattle alt-weekly The Stranger designated it a
"don't miss" feature.

Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonita_Alizadeh

Famous quotations

Information: I
scream to make up for a woman’s lifetime silence,” Alizadeh raps in
“Daughters for Sale.” “I scream on behalf of the deep wounds on my body. I scream
for a body exhausted in its cage — a body that broke under the price tags you put on
it.”
Links: https://asiasociety.org/asia-game-changers/sonita-alizadeh