Aiman Udas was a singer and songwriter in Peshawar, Pakistan. Udas had frequently performed on PTV television and AVT Khyber a private pashto channel in Pakistan.
Her first song that she performed was Zma da mene na toba da bya ba nakon mena (in the Pashto language.)
She won considerable acclaim for her songs but had become a musician in the face of bitter opposition from her family, who believed it was sinful for a woman to perform on television. In 2009, ashamed of her growing popularity, her two brothers are reported to have entered her flat while her husband (who is believed to be her 2nd husband) was out and fired three bullets into her chest, killing her. Neither has been caught.
Her final song was titled, “I died but still live among the living, because I live on in the dreams of my lover.” [1] [2]
Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of spouses Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector.
The Khadr family is an Egyptian-Canadian family noted for their ties to Osama bin Laden and connections to al-Qaeda.
Samia Maxine Longchambon is an English actress. She has played the role of Maria Connor in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street since 2000. She also appeared as a contestant on the eighth series of Dancing on Ice in 2013, and won the third series of Cooking with the Stars in 2023.
Hadiqa KianiTI(c) is a Pakistani singer, Songwriter, Guitarist, composer, actress, and philanthropist. She has received numerous local and international awards and also has performed at the Royal Albert Hall and The Kennedy Center. Besides Urdu and Punjabi, she has also sung several songs in the Pashto language.
Naghma Shaperai is an Afghan singer who started her career in the early 1980s. She sung along her ex-husband, Mangal, during the 1980s and early 1990s. Naghma sings mostly in Pashto, but has also recorded in the Dari Persian language. She is considered to be folklore female artist in Afghanistan and continues to be the voice and face of Pashtun traditional music.
Nazia Hassan was a Pakistani singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist. Referred to as the Queen of South Asian pop, she is considered one of the most influential singers in Pakistan and India as well. Starting in the 1980s, as part of the duo Nazia and Zoheb, she and her brother Zoheb Hassan, have sold over 65 million records worldwide.
Samia Sarwar was a Pakistani woman who was shot dead in her lawyers' office in Lahore in an honour killing arranged by her parents.
Honour killings in Pakistan are known locally as karo-kari. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, over 470 cases of honor killings were reported in Pakistan 2021. But human rights defenders estimate that around 1,000 women are killed in the name of honor every year. An honour killing is the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief the victim has brought dishonour upon the family or community. The death of the victim is viewed as a way to restore the reputation and honour of the family.
Zarsanga or Zar Sanga (born 1946 in Lakki Marwat) is a Pashto singer from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. She began her singing career singing for Radio Peshawar and some television programmes, and later went on to perform in Europe, the United States and the UAE. Her extensive career as a singer and performer has earned her the sobriquet "The Queen Of Pashtun Folklore" and the Pride of Performance Award.
Ghazala Javed was a Pashtun playback singer from Swat Valley, Pakistan. She began singing since 2004 and was "popular with young, progressive ethnic Pashtuns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Her music was famous not only in Pakistan but also in neighbouring Afghanistan and among Pashtuns around the world.
Wendy Millar also known as "Bucket" and "Queen of the UDA" is a Northern Irish loyalist and a founding member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). She established the first UDA women's unit on her native Shankill Road in Belfast. Her two sons Herbie and James "Sham" Millar are also high-profile UDA members and her daughter's husband is former West Belfast brigadier "Fat" Jackie Thompson.
Zindagi Gulzar Hai is a Pakistani television series directed by Sultana Siddiqui, produced by Momina Duraid under the banner Moomal Productions, which was first broadcast on Hum TV. Based on the novel of the same name by Umera Ahmad, who also wrote the screenplay, it was first telecast from 30 November 2012 to 24 May 2013 in Pakistan. The story revolves around two people, opposite in thoughts and financial status, and has a strong female protagonist, contributing to its popularity amongst women.
Farzana Parveen Iqbal was killed on 27 May 2014 outside a court in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Her father, two brothers and former fiancé were among the nearly twenty attackers. Farzana, who had eloped with a man of her own choice, and was pregnant by him, was killed in the tradition of honour killing.
Fouzia Azeem, known by her stage name Qandeel Baloch, was a Pakistani model, actress, social media celebrity and activist. She was the country's first social media celebrity. Azeem rose to prominence due to her videos on social networks discussing her daily routine, her rights as a Pakistani woman, and various controversial issues.
On 20 July 2016, Samia Shahid, a 28-year-old British Pakistani woman, was found dead in Punjab, Pakistan. Although involved in a dispute with her family, she had travelled to Pakistan alone as she had been told that her father was critically ill. Relatives claimed that she had died of natural causes, whereas her husband, Syed Mukhtar Kazim, believed that she had been murdered in a so-called "honour killing"; an autopsy and forensic examination concluded that she had been raped and strangled.
Yaqeen Ka Safar is a Pakistani television drama series produced by Momina Duraid through MD Productions for Hum TV. It aired from 19 April 2017 to 1 November 2017, with a total of 29 episodes. It was written by Farhat Ishtiaq, based on Ishtiaq's novel Woh Yakeen Ka Naya Safar and was directed by Shahzad Kashmiri.
The Kohistan video case is an honour killing case that took place in May 2012 in Palas Valley, Kohistan, Pakistan. It involved the honour killing of up to five girls, of whom a video had emerged on the internet. The video featured a boy dancing while four girls clapped and sang along.
Bacha Zareen Jan, known by her pen name Bibi Gul, also by the honorary title "Queen of Pashto Ghazals", was a Pashto multilingual Pakistani gazal singer, lyricist and musician who primarily sung songs in different languages such as Persian, Hindko, Punjabi, Seraiki, Urdu and predominantly in Pashto language.
Mashooq Sultan, was a Pakistani folk singer and the former actress. The recipient of numerous accolades, including, a highest national literary award of Pakistan the Pride of Performance, she is sometimes referred to as "Melody Queen of the Pashto folk music" for her contributions to Pashto music and "Queen of the stage" for representing Pakistan in numerous foreign countries such as the US, the UK, France, Belgium, the UAE and in Afghanistan. As a multilingual singer, she worked in 1,500 albums written in different regional languages such as Urdu, Punjabi, Saraiki and primarily in Pashto language. She is also credited for singing gazals, and also worked as a playback singer in Pashto films.
Shamshad known by her alias Yasmeen Khan was a Pakistani actress. She was a popular actress who starred in many Pashto films. She was murdered on 15 April 1999.