November 3, 2025 • 15 mins
Every year, thousands of women are sold into child marraiges. SONITA: My Fight Against Tyranny and My Escape to Freedom, by acclaimed rapper and activist Sonita, is a young woman’s first-hand account of growing up in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, being sold into marriage twice, and eventually escaping to the U.S. to graduate from Bard College and become a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Get Connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly
conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on
one oh six point seven light FM.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Thanks for listening to Get Connected. Every year, millions of
girls around the world are forced into marriage. Among them
was Sonita Elizada, who was sold when she was only
ten years old, and when that first marriage fell through,
her parents placed her on sale again for nine thousand dollars. Eventually,
(00:32):
she escaped and lives today as an acclaimed rapper and
activist in the United States. Sonita Elizada tells her incredible
story in Sonita, My Fight against Tyranny and My Escape
to Freedom. Sonita Alizada, thank you for being on Get Connected.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
So it's been about eleven years since you left for
the US. What was it like for you to go
back in your memory and write this book, remembering so
many the more difficult things that you lived through.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Writing this book, it was very.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Emotional, like a roller coaster for me to go back
to all the memories I tried to forget for years,
but they were hunting me and I just wanted to
get everything out so I could help myself. Mentally and
to go through all those moments like writing about the
(01:29):
Taliban war, poverty, child marriage. It was very difficult for me,
but it felt also very nice to get it out
and for me to also have this book as a
statement for other girls women around the world that anything
is possible. So when I look at this book, the
(01:53):
story I put together with the memories I had, it's amazing.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
It feels great.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
This book shows me where I was, where I am
today and how all these difficulties really shaped me to
be stronger.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
And it's not all dark. I mean, there's so much
of your life when you're young. You seem like a
kid who's got a lot of moxie, and you're out there.
You know your sisters especially, and your brother Reazak feels
a bit like a hero in some ways to you. Definitely, Yeah,
please tell me about your brother.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
Yeah. I was about to say that, Yes, he's still
my hero. And also he's still very supportive when it
comes to my music, which is surprising because I come
from a very conservative family. But to have him be
a big fan support whatever I do, it's life changing.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Since you mentioned the Taliban, he has a couple of
encounters with the Taliban. The whole family does, but in
those particular ones, it just seems like the Taliban they're
essentially bandits and thieves.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
I mean, yes, I feel like from all of us,
Rosser was the one who encountered but the Taliban the most,
and because he hated them the most, and he understow
what was going on and all the difficulties he was
facing because of them.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
So the Taliban acted.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
You know, they were brainwashing kids, Like when I talk
about going to mosque, this was something that every child
had to do, and every man in the family had
to go to mosque pray every day. So basically they
were turning us into whatever they wanted, whatever shape, whatever color,
(03:41):
whatever that could fit them or they could benefit from.
And today they're not different. They probably they look nicer
what they were, what they look like, but the mentality
is still the same.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Your mother is very interesting. It seems as if her
first instincts are always more conservative and traditional, or at
least they were when you were younger, But over time
she slowly begins to open up.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
And that took a lot of years for her to
really explore the opportunities. When I talk about my story,
I usually want to put emphasize on the fact that
my mother she loved me. She loves me. She is
a very nice woman. What she had to do to
(04:29):
sell me, trying to sell me into marriage was something
that she knew and she thought.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
That was the best option for a girl.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
So today, when I arrived in the US in twenty fifteen,
because I had the opportunity to educate myself to learn
more about, you know, the fact that child marriage was
happening around the world and why, how how many are affected.
So through the interviews I did media platforms, she also
(05:03):
got to learn more. It was because of my education
that she got educated that girls can be more than
what's the label put on them. So she's today, she's
again my biggest fan. She's going to school to learn ABC.
(05:24):
So it's the power of education. I'm hoping that the
woman in afghanis and they can have access to education again,
because this is the source where you can really find
power and inspiration to continue fighting for yourself.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Our guest is Snita Alizada. The book is Sonita, My
Fight against Tyranny and My Escape to Freedom. She's an
acclaimed rapper and activist. She learned English upon coming to
the US. Graduated from Bard in twenty twenty three, and
this fall she will be pursuing a master's degree at
Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Congratulations on that in
advance website to find out more is Sonita dot net.
(06:05):
Soo Nita dot net. You're listening to get connected on
one six point seven light FM. I'm Nina del Rio.
When you first started looking into child marriage child brides,
you talk in the book about how it was very
revealing your first experiences with Americans and Europeans asking about Afghanistan.
(06:28):
Their questions kind of showed to you how little we
know about each other. Right, I find that sort of sad,
but also obviously you've tried to lean into the opportunity.
What do you think that We'll say, Europeans and Americans.
Europeans and Americans get right about Afghanistan, and what should
they know more about?
Speaker 4 (06:50):
So let's portrayed on social media, on news as often
about war and terrorism and whatever that can have a
negative view on Afghanistan. They do it, But what they
don't see is the hospitality of Afghan people. It's the
(07:17):
landscape of Afghanistan, It's the potential that Afghan people have,
and especially Afghan women. When the previous government in Afghanistan,
when women were given opportunities, resources to receive diplomas, to
(07:37):
get education, to work, we saw that a big number
of a women who worked in government. It was more
than men. And that's very inspiring for us women that
we are always told to be at home. So I
just feel like I hope people start to see the
(08:02):
potential too, especially in Afghanistan right now under the Talibana JYM,
that women are told to stay at home and forget
about the twenty years of progress they made before. And
I sometimes feel very devastated and disappointed in international communities
(08:22):
because they don't see the need that girls women in Afghanistan.
They're calling for help and they don't. Basically they try
to ignore it, which is very sad.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Tell me about learning to be an activist.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
All experience, I guess I started not knowing what I
was doing exactly. I just wanted to share my story,
and by sharing my story, I learned a lot about
the fact that it can be exhausting. You will feel
very tired, very disappointed, easily very angry to see that
(09:00):
whatever you do it seems like pointless you don't see
the change you wish to see. But also all these
things told me that in order for me to create
the last thing change, it's going to take what'st of
my energy and it will take longer. So I should
(09:21):
be patient and I shouldn't kill myself, that this is
something I only have to do. I need to take
care of myself as well and then see what I
can offer with the help of others.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
I think about tradition. You know tradition. You talk about
missing your family in the book, and missing things about
your own culture or cultures. You know it's what makes you.
Yet there are things that are uncomfortable for so many
In your story, you talk about the tradition if your
husband dies, you married your brother in law. Of course,
women need permission for so many things. It's not only
(09:55):
true in Afghanistan that things are difficult, But why do
you think sometimes the most difficult or violent traditions persist
when they don't always make people happy.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
It's a good tool for those who want to stay
in power to be selfish, to control people, which is
happening in Afghanistan. So the best way for the Taliban
to persist to be in power for longer. They need
to lock the minds that can actually lead the country
(10:30):
in a better way, more peaceful, more developed country. So
the Taliban, they're scared of women because they question a lot,
They have a lot to offer, their very creative and
when it comes to that, they hate it. Another reason
(10:51):
why they hate music is because music has a lot
of power to change people and to make you feel
like you want to question, or you want to dance,
you want to do something. That's why they hate it,
because things that can inspire people, it's dangerous for them.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
It feels like when you've discovered music, when you saw
somebody playing guitar for the first time, when you first
started putting your poems to music, it was like electric
for you. So it was automatic that there was something
you were drawn to.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
I had never seen it, so it was most of
anything more than anything.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
It was just so beautiful, and.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
I was hoping I could create something beautiful. So that's
why I wanted to learn the guitar.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
And it.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
Awoken a lot of emotion within me, so I wanted
to experience it again.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
At that time, you were also you had your book
where you were writing your dreams down that came from
the question the dream book, Yeah, the Dreams Book. Do
you still have the Dreams Book? Do you still have things?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
I do I finish that book?
Speaker 4 (12:10):
Which, yeah, I finish one of them and I started
the second one. And I encourage people to have a
vision board for themselves too, because I never thought I
would believe in something like that. I thought it would
be always fate to drive us. But just to have
a picture of where you want to be, it's going
(12:33):
to help you a lot when you're lost.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
What is your goal with this book?
Speaker 4 (12:38):
This book, I'm hoping that one day. I not only hoping,
I believe that the Taliban will not be in power
in Afghanistan forever, especially with this new generation. Nothing really
can change their mind because of the power of internet.
(12:58):
So I'm hoping and I believe that the Taliban have
to change their cruelty or their rules or they just
have to leave because of the power of new voices.
And I'm hoping that I can return to Afghanistan one
(13:19):
day after my studies at Oxford, after working a little
bit to be ready to better serve my country in
the future.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
What are you going to study at Oxford?
Speaker 4 (13:31):
Two Masters Force Refugee for refugee migration. And the second
one is the master of public policy.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
That's impressive. And how is your family now?
Speaker 3 (13:44):
They're good.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
They're around the world, So I wish that wasn't the
case because I wanted to have them all in one
safe place.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
But they're good.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Good. Just to ask one final question, given the we're
in the US and there is not only here but
this anti immigrant climate going on, what are your thoughts
about that right now?
Speaker 4 (14:08):
It's just shocking to me that the country first gave
me a place to stay and have all the opportunities
I had. Now it's a risky place for me to be.
So I'm one of those people who's affected by the
travel ban, and when I think about the US and
(14:30):
what's going on, it's just very heartbreaking because I know
many people want to leave and they're very scared of
all the unknown going on.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
So I feel the same. It's just a lost situation.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
This is a beautiful book. I hope you do well
with it and best of luck with your studies.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
The book is Sonita, My Fight against Tyranny and My
Escape to Freedom by Sonita Alizada. Thank you for being
on Get Connect.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Thank you Bye.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
This has been get connected with Nina del Rio on
one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and
opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views
of the station. If you missed any part of our
show or want to share it, visit our website for
downloads and podcasts at one oh six to seven lightfm
dot com. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to Get Connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly
conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on
one oh six point seven light FM.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Thanks for listening to Get Connected. Every year, millions of
girls around the world are forced into marriage. Among them
was Sonita Elizada, who was sold when she was only
ten years old, and when that first marriage fell through,
her parents placed her on sale again for nine thousand dollars. Eventually,
(00:32):
she escaped and lives today as an acclaimed rapper and
activist in the United States. Sonita Elizada tells her incredible
story in Sonita, My Fight against Tyranny and My Escape
to Freedom. Sonita Alizada, thank you for being on Get Connected.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
So it's been about eleven years since you left for
the US. What was it like for you to go
back in your memory and write this book, remembering so
many the more difficult things that you lived through.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Writing this book, it was very.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Emotional, like a roller coaster for me to go back
to all the memories I tried to forget for years,
but they were hunting me and I just wanted to
get everything out so I could help myself. Mentally and
to go through all those moments like writing about the
(01:29):
Taliban war, poverty, child marriage. It was very difficult for me,
but it felt also very nice to get it out
and for me to also have this book as a
statement for other girls women around the world that anything
is possible. So when I look at this book, the
(01:53):
story I put together with the memories I had, it's amazing.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
It feels great.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
This book shows me where I was, where I am
today and how all these difficulties really shaped me to
be stronger.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
And it's not all dark. I mean, there's so much
of your life when you're young. You seem like a
kid who's got a lot of moxie, and you're out there.
You know your sisters especially, and your brother Reazak feels
a bit like a hero in some ways to you. Definitely, Yeah,
please tell me about your brother.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
Yeah. I was about to say that, Yes, he's still
my hero. And also he's still very supportive when it
comes to my music, which is surprising because I come
from a very conservative family. But to have him be
a big fan support whatever I do, it's life changing.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Since you mentioned the Taliban, he has a couple of
encounters with the Taliban. The whole family does, but in
those particular ones, it just seems like the Taliban they're
essentially bandits and thieves.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
I mean, yes, I feel like from all of us,
Rosser was the one who encountered but the Taliban the most,
and because he hated them the most, and he understow
what was going on and all the difficulties he was
facing because of them.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
So the Taliban acted.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
You know, they were brainwashing kids, Like when I talk
about going to mosque, this was something that every child
had to do, and every man in the family had
to go to mosque pray every day. So basically they
were turning us into whatever they wanted, whatever shape, whatever color,
(03:41):
whatever that could fit them or they could benefit from.
And today they're not different. They probably they look nicer
what they were, what they look like, but the mentality
is still the same.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Your mother is very interesting. It seems as if her
first instincts are always more conservative and traditional, or at
least they were when you were younger, But over time
she slowly begins to open up.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
And that took a lot of years for her to
really explore the opportunities. When I talk about my story,
I usually want to put emphasize on the fact that
my mother she loved me. She loves me. She is
a very nice woman. What she had to do to
(04:29):
sell me, trying to sell me into marriage was something
that she knew and she thought.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
That was the best option for a girl.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
So today, when I arrived in the US in twenty fifteen,
because I had the opportunity to educate myself to learn
more about, you know, the fact that child marriage was
happening around the world and why, how how many are affected.
So through the interviews I did media platforms, she also
(05:03):
got to learn more. It was because of my education
that she got educated that girls can be more than
what's the label put on them. So she's today, she's
again my biggest fan. She's going to school to learn ABC.
(05:24):
So it's the power of education. I'm hoping that the
woman in afghanis and they can have access to education again,
because this is the source where you can really find
power and inspiration to continue fighting for yourself.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Our guest is Snita Alizada. The book is Sonita, My
Fight against Tyranny and My Escape to Freedom. She's an
acclaimed rapper and activist. She learned English upon coming to
the US. Graduated from Bard in twenty twenty three, and
this fall she will be pursuing a master's degree at
Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Congratulations on that in
advance website to find out more is Sonita dot net.
(06:05):
Soo Nita dot net. You're listening to get connected on
one six point seven light FM. I'm Nina del Rio.
When you first started looking into child marriage child brides,
you talk in the book about how it was very
revealing your first experiences with Americans and Europeans asking about Afghanistan.
(06:28):
Their questions kind of showed to you how little we
know about each other. Right, I find that sort of sad,
but also obviously you've tried to lean into the opportunity.
What do you think that We'll say, Europeans and Americans.
Europeans and Americans get right about Afghanistan, and what should
they know more about?
Speaker 4 (06:50):
So let's portrayed on social media, on news as often
about war and terrorism and whatever that can have a
negative view on Afghanistan. They do it, But what they
don't see is the hospitality of Afghan people. It's the
(07:17):
landscape of Afghanistan, It's the potential that Afghan people have,
and especially Afghan women. When the previous government in Afghanistan,
when women were given opportunities, resources to receive diplomas, to
(07:37):
get education, to work, we saw that a big number
of a women who worked in government. It was more
than men. And that's very inspiring for us women that
we are always told to be at home. So I
just feel like I hope people start to see the
(08:02):
potential too, especially in Afghanistan right now under the Talibana JYM,
that women are told to stay at home and forget
about the twenty years of progress they made before. And
I sometimes feel very devastated and disappointed in international communities
(08:22):
because they don't see the need that girls women in Afghanistan.
They're calling for help and they don't. Basically they try
to ignore it, which is very sad.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Tell me about learning to be an activist.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
All experience, I guess I started not knowing what I
was doing exactly. I just wanted to share my story,
and by sharing my story, I learned a lot about
the fact that it can be exhausting. You will feel
very tired, very disappointed, easily very angry to see that
(09:00):
whatever you do it seems like pointless you don't see
the change you wish to see. But also all these
things told me that in order for me to create
the last thing change, it's going to take what'st of
my energy and it will take longer. So I should
(09:21):
be patient and I shouldn't kill myself, that this is
something I only have to do. I need to take
care of myself as well and then see what I
can offer with the help of others.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
I think about tradition. You know tradition. You talk about
missing your family in the book, and missing things about
your own culture or cultures. You know it's what makes you.
Yet there are things that are uncomfortable for so many
In your story, you talk about the tradition if your
husband dies, you married your brother in law. Of course,
women need permission for so many things. It's not only
(09:55):
true in Afghanistan that things are difficult, But why do
you think sometimes the most difficult or violent traditions persist
when they don't always make people happy.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
It's a good tool for those who want to stay
in power to be selfish, to control people, which is
happening in Afghanistan. So the best way for the Taliban
to persist to be in power for longer. They need
to lock the minds that can actually lead the country
(10:30):
in a better way, more peaceful, more developed country. So
the Taliban, they're scared of women because they question a lot,
They have a lot to offer, their very creative and
when it comes to that, they hate it. Another reason
(10:51):
why they hate music is because music has a lot
of power to change people and to make you feel
like you want to question, or you want to dance,
you want to do something. That's why they hate it,
because things that can inspire people, it's dangerous for them.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
It feels like when you've discovered music, when you saw
somebody playing guitar for the first time, when you first
started putting your poems to music, it was like electric
for you. So it was automatic that there was something
you were drawn to.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
I had never seen it, so it was most of
anything more than anything.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
It was just so beautiful, and.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
I was hoping I could create something beautiful. So that's
why I wanted to learn the guitar.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
And it.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
Awoken a lot of emotion within me, so I wanted
to experience it again.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
At that time, you were also you had your book
where you were writing your dreams down that came from
the question the dream book, Yeah, the Dreams Book. Do
you still have the Dreams Book? Do you still have things?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
I do I finish that book?
Speaker 4 (12:10):
Which, yeah, I finish one of them and I started
the second one. And I encourage people to have a
vision board for themselves too, because I never thought I
would believe in something like that. I thought it would
be always fate to drive us. But just to have
a picture of where you want to be, it's going
(12:33):
to help you a lot when you're lost.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
What is your goal with this book?
Speaker 4 (12:38):
This book, I'm hoping that one day. I not only hoping,
I believe that the Taliban will not be in power
in Afghanistan forever, especially with this new generation. Nothing really
can change their mind because of the power of internet.
(12:58):
So I'm hoping and I believe that the Taliban have
to change their cruelty or their rules or they just
have to leave because of the power of new voices.
And I'm hoping that I can return to Afghanistan one
(13:19):
day after my studies at Oxford, after working a little
bit to be ready to better serve my country in
the future.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
What are you going to study at Oxford?
Speaker 4 (13:31):
Two Masters Force Refugee for refugee migration. And the second
one is the master of public policy.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
That's impressive. And how is your family now?
Speaker 3 (13:44):
They're good.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
They're around the world, So I wish that wasn't the
case because I wanted to have them all in one
safe place.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
But they're good.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Good. Just to ask one final question, given the we're
in the US and there is not only here but
this anti immigrant climate going on, what are your thoughts
about that right now?
Speaker 4 (14:08):
It's just shocking to me that the country first gave
me a place to stay and have all the opportunities
I had. Now it's a risky place for me to be.
So I'm one of those people who's affected by the
travel ban, and when I think about the US and
(14:30):
what's going on, it's just very heartbreaking because I know
many people want to leave and they're very scared of
all the unknown going on.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
So I feel the same. It's just a lost situation.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
This is a beautiful book. I hope you do well
with it and best of luck with your studies.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
The book is Sonita, My Fight against Tyranny and My
Escape to Freedom by Sonita Alizada. Thank you for being
on Get Connect.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Thank you Bye.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
This has been get connected with Nina del Rio on
one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and
opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views
of the station. If you missed any part of our
show or want to share it, visit our website for
downloads and podcasts at one oh six to seven lightfm
dot com. Thanks for listening.
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