Posts falsely claim video of Tajik singers shows Arab activists 'singing for women's rights'

This article is more than one year old.
Published on August 30, 2023 at 11:48
Updated on August 31, 2023 at 03:12
2 min read
By AFP Sri Lanka, أف ب كازاخستان

A video of two women performing in a stadium has been shared by Sri Lankan Facebook users who falsely claim it shows "Arab women's rights activists singing for women's freedom". The video was actually filmed at a concert by two popular singers in Tajikistan. One of the singers told AFP that the event was not intended to promote women's rights.

The false claim was shared in a Facebook post on April 24, which shared a 43-minute video first uploaded in 2019.

"This is an Arab woman singing for women's freedom," the 2019 Sinhalese-language post says.

"She's stepped out and despite death threats against her, she continues to sing for women's freedom. There's tight security for her and the other woman backing her up."

The post from April says: "Everyone has the right to experience the beauty of this world. It should not be a crime in any religion or community. Not being allowed to be exposed to such experiences is slavery."

The video, which shows two women performing at a concert, has more than 1.4 million views.

Screenshot of the Facebook post captured on August 10, 2023

The video was shared in a similiar Facebook post in 2019.

"Angels on earth, standing up for our rights," one Facebook user commented.

Another wrote: "True artistes who aim to serve their country instead of chasing money."

Tajikistan concert

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the footage found it in a YouTube video about a concert in Tajikistan (archived link).

"Concert in Istaravshan, Noziya Karamatullo," reads the video's Tajik-language title.

Istaravshan is a city in northern Tajikistan, while Noziya Karamatullo is a popular singer known for performing in Tajik, Hindi and Persian (archived link).

Below are screenshot comparisons of the video shared in false posts (left) and the YouTube video (right):

Screenshot comparisons of the video shared in false posts (left) and the YouTube video (right)

The YouTube video's description identifies the second singer, seen at the video's 29-minute, 34-second mark, as Nigina Amonqulova, who is known for giving performances while dressed in traditional Tajik attire (archived link).

Amonqulova confirmed she is the singer in the video following Karamatullo's performance, but said the show they took part in "sometime back" did not promote women's rights.

"We are supporters of women's rights but the show did not promote such a cause," she told AFP on August 27.

Further keyword searches found photos from the concert uploaded to Karamatullo's account on Russian social media platform VK (archived link).

The album's caption says the concert in Istaravshan was held in 2014.

August 31, 2023 Fixed spelling of the word "the" in third sentence

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