The Cultural Frontline
BBC World Service · Weekly Series
Presenter, Reporter & Producer · 2016 – 21
The Cultural Frontline was BBC World Service’s weekly arts and current affairs programme, exploring how artists and cultural figures around the world responded to major political events, conflict and social change.
Across radio, podcast and digital, Sahar presented, reported and produced stories spanning Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Israel and beyond — from censorship and artistic freedom to war, protest, identity and cultural destruction.
Afghanistan · The Future of Media Freedom
Over 250 newspapers, radio and TV stations closed in the first 100 days of Taliban rule following the withdrawal of US troops in August, and the Afghan press watchdog NAI says around 70% of journalists have lost their jobs. Sahar Zand speaks to Massood Sanjer, the director of the country’s biggest commercial broadcaster and one of Afghanistan’s most prominent figures in the media, about the future of Afghanistan’s media landscape.
Iran · The Ban on Women’s Voices
For decades, female singers in Iran have faced severe restrictions on solo public performance. Sahar Zand speaks to Iranian singer and activist Farvaraz Farvardin about her determination to be heard; from singing in the classroom and sharing music online to prosecution in Iran and seeking asylum in Germany.
Iraq · Rapping to Change Basra
Iraqi rapper Ahmed Chayeb, known as Mr Guti, uses hip-hop to document anger and unrest in his home city of Basra, despite threats to his life. Sahar Zand reports on how his music became an outlet for a generation confronting corruption, failing public services and political disillusionment.
Iran · Fighting for Peace Through Music
Iranian composer Mehdi Rajabian tells Sahar Zand why he brought musicians from across the Middle East together for an ambitious album promoting peace across a region shaped by conflict. The project uses music to cross borders and tell a different story about Iran and its neighbours.
Israel / UK · Broken Fingaz Street Art
Sahar Zand meets Unga of Israeli street-art collective Broken Fingaz as he works on a new mural in Hackney, east London. They explore the group’s roots in Haifa, its international street-art practice and how politics, place and life in Israel have shaped its provocative visual language.
Fighting Cultural Destruction
Maamoun Abdulkarim, the man in charge of trying to protect Syria’s precious artefacts from being destroyed by ISIS, explains why his job is crucial for Syria’s future.
Also in the programme, we visit the street artist based in Manchester, England who’s using her art to challenge our ideas of how men and women should behave, Afghan designer Nawed Elias discusses his work combining Pashtun traditional costume with high fashion, and from Kuwait, writer Mai Al-Nakib relates a curious case of life imitating art.
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