Sahra Ahmed Mohamoud () is a Somali singer and cultural activist. also known as professionally Sahra Halgan as her stage name .

Biography

Halgan was born in 1972 in

Hargeisa Hargeisa (; so, Hargeysa, ar, هرجيسا) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland. It is located in the Maroodi Jeex region of the Horn of Africa. It succeeded Burco as the capital of the British Somaliland Protector ...

, Somalia, at the time led by

Mohamed Siad Barre Mohamed Siad Barre ( so, Maxamed Siyaad Barre, Osmanya script: ; ar, محمد سياد بري; c. 1910 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali head of state and general who served as the 3rd president of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 199 ...

. At 13 years old, she began to sing. Performing on the stage and singing in public is frowned upon by her community, but she has persisted. The

Somali civil war The Somali Civil War ( so, Dagaalkii Sokeeye ee Soomaaliya; ar, الحرب الأهلية الصومالية ) is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the Military dictatorship, military junta wh ...

broke out in the late 1970s against Barre. Resistance movements, supported by the

Ethiopian government The government of Ethiopia () is the federal government of Ethiopia. It is structured in a framework of a federal parliamentary republic, whereby the prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. The ...

, began to develop. The

Somali National Movement The Somali National Movement ( so, Dhaqdhaqaaqa Wadaniga Soomaaliyeed, ar, الحركة الوطنية الصومالية) was one of the first and most important organized guerilla groups opposed to the Siad Barre regime in the 1980s to the 19 ...

(SNM), in particular, seized

Burao Burao, also spelt Bur'o or Bur'ao (; so, Burco, , ar, برعو) is the capital of the Togdheer region and the second largest city in Somaliland. Burao was also the third largest city of Somalia. Burao was the site of the declaration of an in ...

and

. In 1988, Barré decided to put an end to the rebellion by force and launched a heavy bombing campaign focusing on Hargeisa. Halgan, who was only 16 years old and had no previous training, worked as a nurse for the SNM. She said, "At the front, I was finally free. The soldiers had other things to do than forbid me to sing." Barré was removed from power on 26 January 1991.

Career

Halgan then left to take refuge in Europe and recuperate, and settled in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

. She was granted political refugee status. She worked odd jobs in the city, getting involved in neighborhood life and returning to music. In 2009, she released her first album, ''Somaliland'', which did not get much response. Then she worked on a second project, a trio with percussionist Aymeric Krol and guitarist Maël Salètes, who had met in Lyon. Her second album, ''Faransiskiyo Somaliland'', was released in 2015. The music combined Tuareg rock and East African rhythms. In 2015, she returned to live in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

after going back and forth between her native region and France. She founded a cultural center devoted to music and poetry in

, her hometown and second capital of Somalia. She released a third album, ''Waa Dardaaran'', in 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halgan, Sahra Somaliland women 1972 births Living people