Sonita Alizadeh

I don't want to be a musician forever. I want to keep going to school and become a lawyer for women's rights and also use the law to help women.

Being a rapper as a woman is not a good thing in Afghanistan. I kind of put my life in danger whenever I go somewhere to talk about women's rights or make music, rap, or have interviews.

I want to study law, become a lawyer, and work in Afghanistan for human rights.

I like Eminem's style, and Missy Elliott. I really like M.I.A.

It was too hard to understand marrying someone I didn't know. When you don't like someone, if he touches you, it's harder than anything.

When my mother told me they have to sell me, I couldn't breathe; I couldn't speak.

There is a great power in speaking your truth and standing for something important.

I saw my friends being beaten because they said no to child marriage.

My platform for activism is my music, and the issue I am working to address is child marriage. Everyone can find an issue that they care about and their own authentic way of expressing and sharing their message and working for change. When you speak authentically about something that matters to you, your voice has even more power.

When I was being sold into marriage, it was hard to see a future for myself.

My friends, they get married at 15 years old. I saw them with bruises on their faces. I realized this is the real face of child marriage.

I am an activist and rapper from Afghanistan, and I use rap to speak out and help end child marriage.