Zahra Elham

Zahra Elham (; born c. 2002) is an Afghan singer best known for being the first female winner of the reality singing competition Afghan Star. Elham, belonging to the Hazara people group, has continued her music career since receiving asylum in Australia following the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Early life Elham was born in Ghazni, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. She is a member of Hazara ethnic group . Elham was inspired to become a singer after watching YouTube videos of Afghan pop singer Aryana Sayeed, in addition to watching Afghan Star growing up. Elham's parents were supportive of her dreams to become a musician.

Career Elham's musical career began in 2018 when she featured as a contestant in the fourteenth series of Afghan Star. Elham and her childhood friend Sediqa Madadgar were the only two female contestants to qualify for the live shows; their time in the competition was subsequently featured in the 2022 documentary And Still I Sing. While on the show, Elham was noted for her high-pitched singing voice and for performing traditional Hazaragi songs. In 2019, she became only the second female contestant to reach the final of a series of Afghan Star, following Zulala Hashemi in 2017; Hashemi had ultimately finished as runner up to Sayid Jamal Mubariz. In the final, Elham defeated Wasim Anwari to become the first female winner of Afghan Star. In her victory speech, she said "today, I represent all the girls of Afghanistan. Today, not only Zahra Elham, but all the girls in Afghanistan, have won". Elham's career was halted after she fled Afghanistan a few days prior to the fall of Kabul in August 2021; she crossed a land border into Pakistan disguised in a burqa to join her family, who were already living as refugees in the country.