Hamid Sakhizada

Hamid Sakhizada is a celebrated Afghan musician specializing in Afghan folk music and the dambora, a traditional stringed instrument popular within the Hazara community. With a large following both in Afghanistan and internationally, Sakhizada gained widespread recognition when he represented Afghanistan in the 2012 Asia Broadcasting Union (ABU) Song Contest- the Asian equivalent of the Eurovision Song Contest.

His popularity rose in 2008 after earning second place in Afghan Star, a televised music competition broadcast on Tolo TV, modeled after the US Pop Idol series. His powerful performances, especially those accompanied by the dambora, brought traditional Hazara music into mainstream appeal.

Classically trained in South Asian music, Sakhizada spent four years as a teenager studying raaga music at the Arba Ali Khan boarding school in Quetta, Pakistan, and later at the Latif Music Foundation. During this period, he also traveled across Pakistan to learn from renowned classical music masters and founded a music school in Quetta. After returning to Afghanistan, he was invited to perform widely across the country and internationally, including in South Korea, Australia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, and the United Arab Emirates. He has released numerous albums.

Despite his success, Sakhizada’s visibility as a Hazara musician attracted threats from groups opposed to the Hazara minority and religious extremists. During Afghan Star, he received threats demanding that he withdraw from the competition, and at one event, he had to be escorted from the auditorium for his safety. Later in 2008, he was struck by a car without license plates- an incident he believes was intentional. Although he was not seriously injured, local police refused to take action, citing the car's lack of identification.

Determined to support other artists, in 2012 he founded the Bolbi Music Centre in Kabul, which offers music training and recording facilities, and encourages aspiring musicians- particularly Hazara- to participate in programs like Afghan Star and other public performance opportunities.

Sakhizada's professional efforts came at a very high personal cost. In June 2015, two of his students were kidnapped by the Taliban while returning from a performance, one of whom was killed. In January 2016, men attempted to break into Sakhizada’s home. Unable to force entry, they smashed the windows before fleeing.

Following these events, Hamid Sakhizada fled Afghanistan.

Between 2016 and 2018, Sakhizada was the ICORN resident in Harstad. He continues his work from Norway.