Sonita Alizadeh is an Afghan rapper and 2025 Cannes LionHeart Award winner, human rights activist, and Rhodes Scholar, who uses her music to advocate for women’s and girls’ rights. Born in Herat, Afghanistan, under the Taliban regime, she spent much of her childhood as an undocumented refugee in Iran, where she faced attempts by her family to sell her into child marriage. In Iran, she began writing rap as a form of resistance, later gaining international attention with her viral track ‘Daughters for Sale,’ which exposed the realities of forced marriage. Her story was documented in the award-winning film Sonita (2015), bringing global recognition to her activism.

She later received a scholarship to study in the United States and graduated from Bard College with a focus on Music and Human Rights. She has performed globally, including for world leaders and international institutions, and has contributed to educational programmes addressing child marriage, reaching over one million students.

She continues to advocate globally for the end of child marriage and for girls’ rights through education and empowerment.