Name	Kabul
Native name	کابل
Settlement type	City
Pushpin map	Afghanistan
Pushpin label position	above
Pushpin map caption	Location in Afghanistan
Coordinates region	AF
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name
Subdivision type1	Province
Subdivision name1	Kabul Province
Subdivision type3	No. of sectors
Subdivision name3	18
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Mohammad Yunus Noandesh
Area total km2	275
Area land km2
Area metro km2	425
Population as of	2008
Population note	archaic Caubul), is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan, located in the Kabul Province. According to the 2008 official estimates, the population of Kabul metropolitan area is 2.8 million people.

Over the centuries to come, the city was successively controlled by the Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, and Kartids. In the 13th century the Mongol horde passed through and caused massive destruction in the area. Report of a massacre in the close by Bamiyan is recorded around this period, where the entire population of the valley was annihilated by the Mongol troops as a revenge for the death of Genghis Khan's grandson. One of Genghis Khan's grandson is thought to be named Kabul. During the Mongol invasion, many natives of Afghanistan fled to India where some established dynasties in Delhi.

Following the era of the Khilji dynasty in 1333, a famous Moroccan travelling scholar, Ibn Battuta, was visiting Kabul and he mentioned that Kabul was inhabitated by Persian-speaking Afghan tribes:|Ibn Battuta|1304–1369}}

Timurid and Mughal era

Shah Jahan's sons, Shah Shuja, Aurangzeb and Murad Baksh.]] In the 14th century, Kabul rose again as a trading centre under the kingdom of Timur (Tamerlane). By 1504, the city was revitalized by Babur and made into his headquarters, which remained one of the principle cities of the Mughal Empire for over 200 years. In 1525, he described Kabul as a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual region in his memoirs titled Baburnama.|Babur|1525}}

Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat, a poet from India who visited at the time wrote: "Dine and drink in Kabul: it is mountain, desert, city, river and all else." It was from here that Babur began his 1526 conquest of India. Babur wished to be buried in Kabul, a city he had always loved, but at first he was buried in Agra, India. Roughly nine years later his remains were dug back up and re-buried at Bagh-e Babur (Babur Gardens) in Kabul by Sher Shah Suri on orders by Babur's wife. The inscription on his tomb contains Persian words penned which states:"اگر پردیس روی زمین است همین است و همین است و همین است" (If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this!)

The city was often contested by Babur's sons, especially Kamran Mirza and Humayun. Humayun was chased away from Hindustan by Sher Shah Suri but was able to return in November 1545 with Persian aid, where he is believed to have taken Kabul without any blood-spills. Kamran managed to retake Kabul twice but he remained a hated figure to the residents of the city, as his periods of rule involved atrocities against large numbers of them. Following his third and final ejection from Kabul in 1552, Kamran fled and was captured in Punjab by a general of Islam Shah Suri, ruler of the Sur Empire in northern India. Kamran was handed over to Humayun in Kabul, who made him blind.

Durrani Empire and the Afghan nation-state

, the last Durrani King, sitting at his court inside the Bala Hissar before it was destroyed by the British Army]] Nader Shah Afshar invaded and occupied the city briefly in 1738 but was assassinated nine years later. Ahmad Shah Durrani, who commanded 4,000 Abdali Afghans under Nader Shah, asserted Pashtun rule in 1747 and further expanded his new Afghan Empire. His ascension to power marked the beginning of Afghanistan. His son Timur Shah Durrani, after inheriting power, transferred the capital of Afghanistan from Kandahar to Kabul in 1776. Kabul University opened in 1932 and soon was linked to both European and American universities, as well as universities in other Muslim countries in the field of Islamic studies. By the 1960s the majority of instructors at the university had degrees from Western universities. A radio tower built by the Germans in 1937 in Kabul allowed instant communication with outlying villages. A national bank and state cartels were organized to allow for economic modernization. Textile mills, power plants and carpet and furniture factories were also built in Kabul, providing much needed manufacturing and infrastructure.

In the 1960s, Kabul developed a cosmopolitan mood. The first Marks & Spencer store in Central Asia was built there. Kabul Zoo was inaugurated in 1967, which was maintained with the help of visiting German zoologists. Many foreigners began flocking to Kabul with the increase in global air travels around that time. The nation's tourism industry was starting to pick up rapidly for the first time. Kabul experimented with liberalization, dropping laws requiring women to wear the burka, restrictions on speech and assembly loosened which led to student politics in the capital. Socialist, Maoist and liberal factions demonstrated daily in Kabul while more traditional Islamic leaders spoke out against the failure to aid the Afghan countryside.

In July 1973, Zahir Shah was ousted in a nonviolent coup and Kabul became the capital of a republic under Mohammed Daoud Khan, the new President. Daoud's revolution was actually supported by the communist party in the city, the PDP. The support of the PDP helped to prevent a violent clash in his coup in 1973. He named himself President of this new democracy and planned to institute reforms. Daoud was the long standing prime minister, and while he instituted a republic he had Soviet leanings in terms of political allies. He had welcomed Soviet military aid and advisors in 1956 and the nation slowly took on the appearance of what one US diplomat called a "Soviet-style police state, where there is no free press, no political parties, and where the ruthless suppression of minorities is the established pattern." Conversely, some of the people of Kabul who lived under King Zahir Shah describe the period before the April 1978 Saur Revolution as a sort of golden age. All the different ethnic groups or tribes of Afghanistan lived together harmoniously and thought of themselves first and foremost as Afghans. They intermarried and mixed socially. The slow speed of reforms however frustrated both the Western educated elite and the Russian trained army officers. Daoud forced many communists out of his government, which unified the various communist factions within the city. Education was modified into the Soviet model, with lessons focusing on teaching Russian, Leninism-Marxism and learning of other countries belonging to the Soviet bloc.

Soviet war

in Kabul was used as the headquarters of the Soviet 40th Army]] After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, on December 24, 1979, the Red Army occupied the capital. They turned the city into their command centre during the 10-year conflict between the Soviet-allied government and the Mujahideen rebels. Kabul remained relatively calm during that period as fighting was mostly in the countryside and in other major cities. The American Embassy in Kabul closed on January 30, 1989.

Foreign intrusion and civil war

After the fall of the communist Najibullah-regime in 1992, the Afghan political parties agreed on a peace and power-sharing agreement (the Peshawar Accords). The Peshawar Accords created the Islamic State of Afghanistan and appointed an interim government for a transitional period. Human Rights Watch writes: :"The sovereignty of Afghanistan was vested formally in "The Islamic State of Afghanistan", an entity created in April 1992, after the fall of the Soviet-backed Najibullah government. ... With the exception of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami, all of the parties ... were ostensibly unified under this government in April 1992. ... Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami, for its part, refused to recognize the government for most of the period discussed in this report and launched attacks against government forces and Kabul generally. ... Hekmatyar continued to refuse to join the government. Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami forces increased their rocket and shell attacks on the city. Shells and rockets fell everywhere." Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was directed, funded and supplied by the Pakistani army. Amin Saikal concludes in his book which was chosen by The Wall Street Journal as 'One of the "Five Best" Books on Afghanistan': :"Pakistan was keen to gear up for a breakthrough in Central Asia. ... Islamabad could not possibly expect the new Islamic government leaders, especially [Ahmad Shah] Massoud (who had always maintained his independence from Pakistan), to subordinate their own nationalist objectives in order to help Pakistan realize its regional ambitions. ... Had it not been for the ISI's logistic support and supply of a large number of rockets, Hekmatyar's forces would not have been able to target and destroy half of Kabul." In December, the last of the 86 city trolley buses came to a halt because of the conflict. A system of 800 public buses continued to provide transportation services to the city. By 1993 electricity and water in the city was completely out. Initially the factions in the city aligned to fight off Hekmatyar but diplomacy inside the capital quickly broke down. Saudi Arabia and Iran also armed and directed Afghan militias. According to Human Rights Watch, numerous Iranian agents were assisting the Shia Hezb-i Wahdat forces of Abdul Ali Mazari, as Iran was attempting to maximize Wahdat's military power and influence in the new government. Saudi agents of some sort, private or governmental, were trying to strengthen the Wahhabi Abdul Rasul Sayyaf and his Ittihad-i Islami faction to the same end. Horrific crimes were committed by individuals of different factions as described in reports by Human Rights Watch and the Afghanistan Justice Project. Tens of thousands of Kabul citizens were killed and many more fled as refugees. The United Nations estimated that 90% of the buildings in Kabul were destroyed during these years. :"Rare ceasefires, usually negotiated by representatives of Ahmad Shah Massoud, Sibghatullah Mojaddedi or Burhanuddin Rabbani (the interim government), or officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), commonly collapsed within days," writes Human Rights Watch. They tortured ex-President Najibullah and his brother to death and lynched their dead corpses publicly. Massoud and his forces withdrew from Kabul to the northern regions of Afghanistan creating the United Front (Northern Alliance).

After taking control of the capital city of Kabul on September 26, 1996, the Taliban issued edicts forbidding women to work outside the home, attend school, or to leave their homes unless accompanied by a male relative. In public, women had to be covered from head to toe in a burqa, a body-length covering with only a mesh opening to see and breathe through. Women were not permitted to wear white (the color of the Taliban flag) socks or white shoes, or shoes that make noise while they are walking. Also, houses and buildings had to have their windows painted over so women could not be seen inside. Many Hazaras fled to the area of Ahmad Shah Massoud. The National Geographic concluded: "The only thing standing in the way of future Taliban massacres is Ahmad Shah Massoud." |date=August 2010 }}

Administration

Kabul City is one of the 15 districts of Greater Kabul (the province), and is divided into 18 sectors. Each sector covers several neighborhoods of the city. The number of sectors in Kabul increased from 11 to 18 in 2005.

Unlike other cities of the world, Kabul City has two independent councils or administrations at once: Prefecture and Municipality. The Prefect, who is also the Governor of Kabul Province, is appointed by the Ministry of Interior, and is responsible for the administrative and formal issues of the entire province. The Mayor of Kabul City is selected by the President of Afghanistan, who engages in the city's planning and environmental work.

The police and security forces belong to the prefecture and Ministry of Interior. The Chief of Police is selected by the Minister of Interior and is responsible for law enforcement and security of the city.

Demographics

The Kabul metropolitan area has a population of 2.8 million inhabitants.

The population of the city reflects the general multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-confessional characteristics of Afghanistan. There is no official government report on the exact ethnic make-up of the city but according to a 2003 estimate by the National Geographic Society, Persian-speakers form the majority of the city's population, with Tajiks being the largest group at approximately 45% followed by Hazaras at 25%. Pashtuns form another 25%. The remaining 5% include Turkic-speaking Uzbek and Turkmen as well as Aimak, Baloch, Pashai and others. Regardless of their ethnic background, every resident of Kabul are referred to as Kabuli or Kabulai.

Nearly all the people of Kabul are Muslim, about 75% Sunnis and 25% Shias. Small number of Sikhs and Hindus are also found in the city. There is at least one Jew in Kabul, whose name is Zablon Simintov.

Transport

Kabul International Airport, located from the centre of Kabul, is the country's main airport. It is a hub to Ariana Afghan Airlines, which is the national airlines carrier of Afghanistan. Kam Air, Pamir Airways, and Safi Airways also have their headquarters in Kabul. Airlines from nearby nations such as Pakistan, Iran, India, and several others also make stops at Kabul Airport. A new international terminal was built by the government of Japan and began operation in 2008. The new terminal is the first of three terminals to be opened so far. The other two will open once air traffic to the city increases. Passengers coming from most foreign nations use mostly Dubai for flights to Kabul. Kabul Airport also has a military air base which serves as the main airport for Afghan National Air Corps. NATO also uses the Kabul Airport, but most military traffic is based at Bagram Air Base, just north of Kabul. The Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police are in charge of the airport security. For the year of 2009, the militaries of Hungary and Poland were the operators of the entire airport, paying for the upkeep and protection of the facility, under command of NATO.

Bus service to most major cities of the country is available in Kabul although they are not as safe, especially for foreigners. The city's public buses (Milli Bus / "National Bus") take commuters on daily routes to many destinations. The service currently has approximately 800 buses but is gradually expanding and upgrading with more buses being added. The Kabul bus system has recently discovered a new source of revenue in whole-bus advertising from MTN similar to "bus wrap" advertising on public transit in more developed nations. There is also an express bus that runs from the city centre to Kabul International Airport for Safi Airways passengers. There are also yellow taxicabs just about anywhere in and around the city.

Private vehicles are on the rise in Kabul, with Toyota, Nissan, and other dealerships in the city. People are buying new cars as the roads and highways are being improved. Most drivers in Kabul prefer owning a Toyota Corolla, one of Afghanistan's most popular car. It has even been reported that up to 90% of cars in Kabul are Corollas. With the exception of motorcycles many vehicles in the city operate on LPG. Gas stations are mainly private-owned but the fuel comes from Iran. Bikes on the road are a common sight in the city.

Communications

GSM/GPRS mobile phone services in the city are provided by Afghan Wireless, Etisalat, Roshan and MTN. In November 2006, the Afghan Ministry of Communications signed a US 64.5 million dollar agreement with a company (ZTE Corporation) on the establishment of a countrywide fibre optical cable network. This will improve telephone, internet, television and radio broadcast services not just in Kabul but throughout the country. Internet was introduced in the city in 2002 and has been expanding rapidly.

There are a number of post offices throughout the city. Package delivery services like FedEx, TNT N.V., and DHL are also available.

The city has many local-language radio stations, including Pashto and Dari, as well as some programs in the English language. The Afghan government has become increasingly intolerant of Indian channels and the un-Islamic culture they bring, and has threatened to ban them.

Education

Public and private schools in the city have reopened since 2002 after they were shut down or destroyed during fighting in the 1980s to the late 1990s. Boys and girls are strongly encouraged to attend school under the Karzai administration but many more schools are needed not only in Kabul but throughout the country. The Afghan Ministry of Education has plans to build more schools in the coming years so that education is provided to all citizens of the country. The most well known high schools in Kabul include:

Habibia High School, a British-Afghan school founded in 1903 by King Habibullah Khan.

Lycée Esteqlal, a Franco-Afghan school founded in 1922.

Amani High School, a German-Afghan school for boys founded in 1924.

Aisha-i-Durani School, a German-Afghan school for girls.

The city's colleges and universities were renovated after 2002. Some of them have been developed recently, while others have existed since the early 1900s.

Universities in Kabul

Kabul University

Kabul Medical University

Polytechnical University of Kabul (Kabul Polytechnic)

American University of Afghanistan

Higher Education Institute of Karwan

Rana Institute of Higher Education

Bakhtar Institute of Higher Education

Dawat University

National Military Academy of Afghanistan

Kateb Institute of Higher Education

Places of interest

The old part of Kabul is filled with bazaars nestled along its narrow, crooked streets. Cultural sites include the Afghan National Museum, notably displaying an impressive statue of Surya excavated at Khair Khana, the ruined Darul Aman Palace, the Mausoleum of Emperor Babur and Chehlstoon Park, the Minar-i-Istiqlal (Column of Independence) built in 1919 after the Third Afghan War, the mausoleum of Timur Shah Durrani, and the imposing Id Gah Mosque (founded 1893). Bala Hissar is a fort destroyed by the British in 1879, in retaliation for the death of their envoy, now restored as a military college. The Minaret of Chakari, destroyed in 1998, had Buddhist swastika and both Mahayana and Theravada qualities.

Other places of interest include Kabul City Center, which is Kabul's first shopping mall, the shops around Flower Street and Chicken Street, Wazir Akbar Khan district, Babur Gardens, Kabul Golf Club, Kabul Zoo, Shah Do Shamshera and other famous Mosques, the Afghan National Gallery, Afghan National Archive, Afghan Royal Family Mausoleum, the OMAR Mine Museum, Bibi Mahroo Hill, Kabul Cemetery, and Paghman Gardens.

Tappe-i-Maranjan is a nearby hill where Buddhist statues and Graeco-Bactrian coins from the 2nd century BC have been found. Outside the city proper is a citadel and the royal palace. Paghman and Jalalabad are interesting valleys north and east of the city.

Airports

*Kabul International Airport

Parks

* Bāgh-e Bābur Park (Babur Gardens)

* Bāghi Bālā Park

* Lake Qargha Park

* Zarnegar Park

* Shar-e Naw Park

* Bagh-e Zanana

* Chaman-e-Hozori

* Bebi Mahroo Park

Mosques

* Abdul Rahman Mosque

* Id Gah Mosque

* Pul-e Khishti Mosque

* Shah-e Do Shamshera Mosque

* Blue Mosque

Mausoleums

* Mausoleum of Tamim Ansar

* Mausoleum of Timur Shah Durrani

* Mausoleum of Abdur Rahman Khan

* Mausoleum of Zahir Shah and Nadir Shah

Museums

* Kabul Museum

* National Archives

* Negaristani Milli

Hotels

* Marriott (under construction)

* Serena Hotel

* Parwan Hotel

* InterContinental

Safi Landmark Hotel

Golden Star Hotel

Heetal Plaza Hotel

Reconstruction and developments

As of October 2007, there are approximately 16 licensed banks in Kabul: including Da Afghanistan Bank, Afghanistan International Bank, Kabul Bank, Azizi Bank, Pashtany Bank, Afghan United Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Punjab National Bank, Habib Bank and others. Western Union offices are also found in many locations throughout the city, which are mainly used by expatriate Afghans to transfer funds to their families at home.

A small sized indoor shopping mall (Kabul City Center) with a 4-star (Safi Landmark) hotel on the top six floors opened in 2005. A 5-star Serena Hotel also opened in 2005. Another 5-star Marriott Hotel is under construction. The landmark InterContinental Hotel has also been refurbished and is in operation. Modern apartment buildings are also being built across Kabul, as part of the attempt to modernize the city.

An initial concept design called the City of Light Development, envisioned by Dr. Hisham N. Ashkouri, Principal of ARCADD, Inc. for the development and the implementation of a privately based investment enterprise has been proposed for multi-function commercial, historic and cultural development within the limits of the Old City of Kabul along the Southern side of the Kabul River and along Jade Meywand Avenue, revitalizing some of the most commercial and historic districts in the City of Kabul, which contains numerous historic mosques and shrines as well as viable commercial activities among war damaged buildings. Also incorporated in the design is a new complex for the Afghan National Museum. Dr. Ashkouri has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with His Excellency Ambassador Said Tayeb Jawad in Washington, D.C. to undertake this project and to develop it for actual implementation over the next 20 to 25 years. Dr. Ashkouri has presented the City of Light Plan to President Karzai and has received a letter of support from the President and the Minister of Urban Development in support of this project's development. .]]

About from downtown Kabul, in Bagrami, a wide industrial complex has completed with modern facilities, which will allow companies to operate businesses there. The park has professional management for the daily maintenance of public roads, internal streets, common areas, parking areas, 24 hours perimeter security, access control for vehicles and persons. Another phase with additional of land will be added immediately proceeding the first phase.

A $25 million Coca-Cola bottling plant was opened in 2006. Financing was provided by a Dubai-based Afghan family. President Hamid Karzai formally opened the facility in an attempt to attract more foreign investment in the city. In late 2007 the government announced that all the residential houses situated on mountains would be removed within a year so that trees and other plants can be grown on the hills. The plan is to try to make the city greener and provide residents with a more suitable place to live, on a flat surface. Once the plan is implemented it will provide water supply and electricity to each house. All the city roads will also be paved under the plan, which will solve transportation problems.

NGOs

Numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs), both national and international, are based in Kabul, conducting various activities to assist development in Afghanistan and provide humanitarian relief to the many victims which 30 years of war have produced.

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is the largest not-for-profit organization in Afghanistan. It has been involved in most major development projects, including the Serena Hotel, the first five-star hotel in Afghanistan, as well as the restoration of the Bagh-e Babur gardens. AKDN also launched the award-winning Roshan, Afghanistan's leading telecommunications provider. Over 93% of Roshan's staff comprises Afghan nationals, whose average age is 23; many employees only have a high school degree. Over 20% of Roshan's employees are women, and the company has shown that it is committed to promoting women in the workplace.

Afghanistan Information Management Services (AIMS) provides software development, capacity development, information management, and project management services to the Afghan Government and other NGOs, thereby supporting their on-the-ground activities.

The We Are the Future (WAF) Center is a child care centre whose aim is to give children a chance to live their childhoods and develop a sense of hope. The centre is managed under the direction of the mayor's office and the international NGO. Glocal Forum serves as the fundraiser, program planner and coordinator for the WAF centre. Launched in 2004, the program is the result of a strategic partnership between the Glocal Forum, the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation and Mr. Hani Masri, with the support of the World Bank, UN agencies and major companies.

Gallery

See also

Kharabat

Wazir Akbar Khan

List of cities in Afghanistan

City of Light Development

Radio Kabul

Kabul Golf Club

Kabul Express

2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes

References and footnotes

Further reading

Hill, John E. (2009). Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4392-2134-1.

External links

Map of Kabul City

What's On In Kabul (pdf format)

Historical Photos of Kabul

The Story of Kabul

Kabul Caravan

Kabul - City of Light, 9 Billion dollar modern urban development project

Sada-e Azadi Radio/TV/Newspaper (ISAF)

Kabul travel guide from Wikitravel

People of Kabul - report by Radio France Internationale in English

Category:Capitals in Asia Category:Populated places along the Silk Road Category:Shahi Dynasty Category:Populated places established in the 2nd millennium BC Category:Populated places in Kabul Province

Name	Lily Allen
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Lily Rose Beatrice Allen
Born	May 02, 1985Hammersmith, London, England
Instrument	Guitar
Genre	2 Tone, indie pop, grime, ska, alternative rock
Occupation	Actress, presenter, musician, songwriter
Years active	2005–present(on hiatus, as of 2010)
Label	Regal (2006–2010)Capitol (2007–2010)
Url

Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English recording artist, talk show host, and actress. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative. A year later, Allen abandoned school and concentrated on improving her performing and compositional skills. Afterwards, she created several demo songs, and near the end of 2005, she created a profile on MySpace, where she made some of her recordings public.

A contract was signed with the label Regal Recordings, as the views on MySpace rose to tens of thousands. In 2006, she began to work on completing what would be her first studio album and its first mainstream single "Smile" reached the top position on the UK Singles Chart in July 2006. Her debut record, Alright, Still, was well received on the international market, selling over 2.6 million copies and brought Allen a nomination at the Grammy Awards, BRIT Awards and MTV Video Music Awards. She then began hosting her own talk-show, Lily Allen and Friends, on BBC Three.

Her second major album release, It's Not Me, It's You, saw a genre shift for her, having more of an electropop feel, rather than the ska and reggae influences of the first one. The album debuted at #1 on the UK Albums Chart and the Australian ARIA Charts and was appreciated by the critics, noting the singer's musical evolution and maturity. It spawned the hit singles "The Fear" and "Fuck You", popular mostly in Europe. Allen and Amy Winehouse have been credited with starting a process that led to the media-proclaimed "year of the women" in 2009 that has seen five female artists making music of "experimentalism and fearlessness" long nominated for the Mercury Prize. In September 2009, Allen stated that she sees no way that she could ever make a profit making new records. In August she announced her pregnancy and began a hiatus. Her family settled in the North London borough of Islington. She has an older sister, Sarah; a younger brother, Alfie Owen-Allen (who was the subject of her song "Alfie"); and a younger sister Rebecca. She has a number of half-siblings. Allen lived for a while with comedian Harry Enfield while her mother dated him. She is the god-daughter of Wild Colonials vocalist Angela McCluskey. The late Clash singer and guitarist Joe Strummer is also referred to as a godparent; while not literally true, Strummer was close to Allen. Allen has fond memories of the week and a half they would spend together at Glastonbury Festival as part of a regular collective centred on Strummer and her father. Strummer's musical past would not come into focus for Allen until after his death.

In 1988, at the age of three, Allen appeared on The Comic Strip Presents... episode "The Yob," which her father had co-written. When Allen was four years old, her father left the family. Allen grew up with her mother in a working class environment, living in a council house environment for most of her childhood.

When Allen was 11, former University of Victoria music student Rachel Santesso overheard Allen singing Wonderwall by Oasis in the school's playground; impressed, Santesso, who would later become an award-winning soprano and composer, called Allen into her office the next day and started giving her lunchtime singing lessons. This would lead to Allen singing Baby Mine from Disney's Dumbo at a school concert. Allen would tell Loveline that the audience was "brought to tears at the sight of a troubled young girl doing something good". At that point Allen said she knew that music was something she needed to do either as a lifelong vocation or to get it out of her system. Allen played piano to grade 5 standard and achieved Grade 8 in singing. She also played violin, guitar and trumpet as well as being a member of a chamber choir. Her first solo was "In the Bleak Midwinter." She dropped out of school at age fifteen, not wanting to "spend a third of her life preparing to work for the next third of her life, to set herself up with a pension for the next third of her life."

Music career

2005–07: Alright, Still

Allen met her first manager, George Lamb in Ibiza. Allen was rejected by several labels, which she attributed to her drinking and being the daughter of Keith Allen. When the executive who had signed her left, the label lost interest and she left without releasing the folk songs many of which were written by her father.

Allen studied horticulture to become a florist, but changed her mind and returned to music. She began writing songs, and her manager introduced her to production duo Future Cut in 2004. They worked in a small studio in the basement of an office building.

Allen created an account on MySpace and began posting demos in November 2005. Allen received a 2008 NME Award nomination for the category of "Best Band Blog." Allen's songs have been downloaded from her MySpace page 19 million times. As at 9 February 2009, Allen had 448,000 MySpace friends. She was the fifth most popular musical act of 2008, according to the social networking site. Allen used her MySpace blog for controversies surrounding her. By February 2009 she had stopped the practice because "It's boring when people just pick stuff up and write about it. People get hurt, people get upset.". Lily is about to perform her last ever live gig at Big Chill Festival 2010.

Allen's debut album, Alright, Still, was released as a limited-edition 12" vinyl in the UK on 3 July 2006; the full CD release followed in the UK and the rest of Europe on 17 July 2006. The album features between 11 and 14 tracks (depending on the edition), most of which were previewed on her MySpace page, including the singles "Smile" (the first song she wrote with Future Cut), "LDN", "Knock 'Em Out", and "Alfie". "Friday Night", co-written with Jonny Bull, was also included, alongside "Littlest Things" produced by Mark Ronson, help earn Ronson a "Producer of the Year – Non Classical" 2008 Grammy Award. In a 2010 interview Ronson said that that Allen would angrily blame him when stories appeared in the press calling Ronson "the man behind" Allen's music. Ronson noted that "There is no one behind Lily Allen, it's all her". In September 2006, "Smile" was made available on the United States version of iTunes Store. By December 2006, her music video for Smile had been played on various music channels as well as the song getting a little airplay. Entertainment Weekly named Alright, Still as one of the top 10 albums of 2006 despite the fact that it had not yet been released in the U.S. Allen also did several promotional ads for MTV as their Discover and Download artist of the month for January 2007.

On the week ending on 28 January 2007, British artists made chart history taking all top 10 places in the Official UK Albums chart for the first time since the chart was established in 1956, according to British record labels trade association the BPI, the album Alright, Still was number nine that week.

The album was released in the United States on 30 January 2007, landing at 20 on the Billboard Album Charts. Allen won a 2008 BMI songwriting award for "Smile". "Smile" was the first single. The U.S. version contains three additional tracks: "Nan, You're A Window Shopper", "Blank Expression" (on the iTunes version) and a new remix of "Smile" by Mark Ronson. On 5 March 2007, the single "Alfie" was released.

By January 2009 the album had sold 960,000 copies in the United Kingdom and 520,000 copies in the United States. Allen said she cringes now when listening to tracks from Alright, Still, as it reminds her that she was a "sort of over-excitable teenager who desperately wanted attention" when she wrote it.

2008–09: It's Not Me, It's You

in London on 6 July 2007.]] In April 2008, Allen said she was heading in a "new direction." She posted two new song demos on her MySpace page and planned to release a mixtape to give her fans an idea of what the new direction was. Allen said the new direction was undertaken because: "I did a retro thing last time, and since I did that, a lot of other people did it too. I wanted to separate myself from the group and move forward."

Allen posted on MySpace a partial clip of a song, originally called both "Guess Who Batman" and "Get With the Brogram," but was eventually entitled "Fuck You" The song was originally written about the British National Party but ended up being about George W. Bush. Allen had also posted early versions of "The Fear" (then titled "I Don't Know"), "I Could Say", and "Who'd Have Known". By 19 August, there were between 250,000 and one million plays for each song from the album that she has made available to listen to on her MySpace page.

After the release of her first album, her parent record company, EMI, was taken over by Terra Firma. Her management company, Empire Artist Management, was replaced by Twenty-First Artists, although her core team remained in place. It's Not Me, It's You was first scheduled for an early 2008 release, but her miscarriage and creative issues delayed the release date to the autumn. During autumn 2008, EMI was undergoing restructuring. According to Allen, this led to a situation were "everyone is terrified of losing their jobs. So no one wants to make decisions or give you their opinion in case it comes back on them. As an artist, that really is terrifying." Due to this negative environment, a decision with Allen's full approval was made to move the album's eventual release date to February 2009 by Regal/Parlophone." On 26 February, the album was at the number 5 position on the Pan-European Charts. The album has been certified as platinum in the United Kingdom.

The first single from the album, "The Fear", was released digitally on 9 December 2008 and released on CD on 26 January 2009. It entered the chart at number 136 on limited edition, and was number 1 for the first four weeks after its official release. As of 26 February the single was at the number 3 position on the Eurochart. This single also topped the first ever Mobile Downloads Chart, which is based on sales of full-track downloads to mobile phones in the United Kingdom. The video for the single was released 4 December. Three weeks before its release, the single was in top 20 on Nielsen Music Control's U.K. Radio Airplay. In the United States on 12 January, the single was "worked" to Triple A Radio formats, then Top 40.

The second single released from the album, "Not Fair", was released for download in March; its physical release was scheduled for May 2009. It debuted at the number 16 position on the UK singles chart By 27 April, the single had moved up to the number 9 position. On 18 May the song resided at the number 7 position on the Australian charts. Not Fair has been described as a humorous song about a lazy lover. Allen has played the song to the person in question, and he did not realise the song was about him.

At the urging of her record company, Allen tried unsuccessfully to create the album with several writers and producers. Allen eventually returned to Greg Kurstin who had written three songs for Alright, Still. Allen released a statement saying "We decided to try and make bigger sounding, more ethereal songs, real songs ... I wanted to work with one person from start to finish to make it one body of work. I wanted it to feel like it had some sort of integrity. I think I've grown up a bit as a person and I hope it reflects that." "Chinese" references take-away food, and although believed to be about a boy, it is actually about time spent with her mother.

On 23 October, Allen released "Everyone's At It", the first track from the album for download on her MySpace page. The song appears to be a commentary on the drug culture and is expected to cause controversy. It includes the lyrics "I'm not trying to say that I'm smelling of roses, but when will we tire of putting shit up our noses... It's meant to be fun and this just doesn't feel right... So you've got a prescription, and that makes it legal. I find those excuses overwhelmingly feeble… The kids are in danger, they're all getting habits. From what I can see, everyone's at it."

The release of the album is a factor in EMI’s more than trebling its earnings. An online game, Escape the Fear, was created by Matmi as part of the viral marketing campaign targeted at people unaware of Allen or the album. Players playing the role of Allen must negotiate a series of obstacles standing in the way of Allen's dreams. Since its release, the game has topped the worldwide viral charts three times, including the week of Christmas—a highly contested time of the year. By 18 February 2009, the game had been played over two million times. On Allen's website, there are remixes of songs from the album by fans who have been allowed access to individual parts of the songs.

According to the British music website Last.fm, Allen was the third most listened to artist, and the most listened to British artist in 2009 on its site. As of March 2010, "It's Not Me, It's You" was the fourth best selling digital album of all time in the United Kingdom.

Her work on this album with Greg Kurstin earned her the Songwriters of the Year at the 2010 Ivor Novello Awards. In addition, she won with Kurstin Best Song Musically and Lyrically and Most Performed Work for "The Fear". Allen appeared overwhelmed by this recognition from what she considered "real awards", saying "This song is so much about feeling so lost. It has made me feel quite found all of a sudden."

In October 2010 Allen was awarded by the United States music licensing organization Broadcast Music, Inc for extensive United States radio airplay of her sing "The Fear".

2010–present: Musical hiatus

In September 2009 she shut down her MySpace account and stopped social networking completely in December due to the abuse she was taking. On 2 February 2010 Allen made several posts to her Twitter account. The first posting was "hello, I'm back".

Also in September 2009 Allen announced that she is considering a career in acting and that she will not renew her record contract. In a blog, her last before taking it down, Allen wrote that she has "no plans" to make another record. "The days of me making money from recording music have been and gone as far as I'm concerned". Allen's spokesperson said "She is not quitting pop music. She is not thinking about her next album right now because she is still in the middle of promoting her current record."

In February 2010 Allen responded to a question about how her 2010 Brit Award for "British Female Solo Artist" would affect her hiatus: "This hasn't changed my plans to quit. It's actually been really good as something to work towards for the last six months, knowing I'd be doing this. It is the perfect way to say goodbye. I have so much I want to do now with my shop and record label.". In May she stated that following her remaining shows she still plans on taking a break saying "I'm ready to just take a break from it," "I'm still writing... I'm not writing for myself.".

Collaborations and other music

Allen provided backing vocals on the Basement Jaxx song "Lights Go Down" (from Crazy Itch Radio) and appears on tracks on Robbie Williams's 2006 album, Rudebox on the Manu Chao-cover "Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'Aime Plus" (produced by Mark Ronson) and also on "Keep On." She also provides vocals on "Rawhide" by Jamie T. She performed a duet with rapper Dizzee Rascal on the song "Wanna Be" that appeared on Rascal's Maths + English album. Rapper Common has also collaborated with Allen on the track "Drivin' Me Wild" from his seventh album Finding Forever. On 30 June 2008, Allen and Klaxons singer Jamie Reynolds announced they were working on a new song and had completed a cover of Joe Jackson's "Steppin Out."

Allen and New Young Pony Club provided backing vocals to the song "Never Miss a Beat" that appears on the Kaiser Chiefs' album Off With Their Heads. The song was released as a single on 6 October 2008. Allen's voice on the song was described as unrecognisable due to Mark Ronson's production. The album was released on the 13 October. Allen was expected to provide vocals for the track "Always Happens like That."

Allen wrote a song for the 2008 Shockwaves Awards entitled "From Barry to Billericay" about comedian James Corden. She contributed the song "She's So Lovely and Naive" for the soundtrack of the 2008 British comedy film Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Allen presented members of Squeeze with their Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award. Glenn Tilbrook later remarked that he really like Allen's cover of "Up the Junction."

On 12 December 2008, Mark Ronson premièred Allen's cover version of Britney Spears' song "Womanizer" on his East Village radio show. Allen in her MySpace blog said Ronson was supposed to "talk all over it so it wouldn't get ripped." Instead Ronson played the song in its entirety and the cover within days had been heard worldwide causing Allen to get into "serious trouble" with her label. Allen has played the song at gigs.

Touring

In 2007, she played the newly launched Park Stage at the Glastonbury Festival, replacing M.I.A. who had cancelled. Saying "it's big shoes to fill, and we're doing it acoustically so it might sound a bit funny" she ended her set singing a cover of Blondie's "Heart of Glass." Allen describes this performance as the highlight of the 2006–2008 period In concert, Allen performed a parody of 50 Cent's "Window Shopper," called "Nan, You're a Window Shopper," which was commercially released as a B-side to "LDN," because approval was not given in time for the Alright, Still release. Nonetheless, the song appears on the U.S. version of the album. During the festival she reunited two members of The Specials an act that guitarist Lynval Golding claimed played a "massive part" in the group's 2009 reunion.

Allen performed to positive reviews when Irving Plaza was rechristened as The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza on 11 April 2007. Allen cancelled a scheduled appearance at the 2008 Isle of Wight Festival telling festival promoter John Giddings the reason for the cancellation was that her album was behind schedule. Giddings said that the reason given was not acceptable and possibly a lie. Giddings decided not to sue her.

On 29 June 2008, Allen performed at the Glastonbury Festival alongside producer Mark Ronson. An emotional Allen dedicated her performance of "Littlest Things" to her grandmother who died the night before. On 3 July, in a surprise appearance with Ronson at the Wireless Festival, Allen appeared to perform "Littlest Things" and "Oh My God." She forgot some song lyrics. in Zagreb, Croatia, 24 June 2009]] Allen's first concert to promote It's Not Me, It's You was held 28 January 2009 at Koko in London. It was her first London gig in 18 months. A few days later she played at a gay nightclub where she dressed up as Britney Spears for the song "Womanizer." She also dressed up as The Pink Panther and wore a revealing Little Bo Peep romper suit. On 10 February Allen played the first of three scheduled "secret" shows at New York’s Bowery Ballroom sponsored by MySpace. The New York gig was also sponsored by TurboTax. Additional concerts were scheduled for Tokyo, and London. A 9 date tour of Great Britain and Ireland was started . She opened the tour with a performance at the O2 Academy Glasgow where she connected with the audience. The loudest cheers were for her song "The Fear." In Manchester she was supported by La Roux. In April 2009 completed a sold out 14 city United States tour. She also played Toronto and was be backed by Natalie Portman's Shaved Head.

she has been confirmed for the Oxegen Festival, T-Mobile INmusic festival, Bestival Festival and Big Weekend Festival.

Allen was scheduled for return engagements at the T In The Park festival. Starting on 5 June 2009 Allen was scheduled to tour Australia and Japan. There were 762,000 requests to see her performance on the BBC's Glastonbury online service, the second highest amount for any performer.

In addition she was scheduled for an 11 July appearance at the Summer Series at London's Somerset House. In August 2009 Allen is scheduled to duet with American musician/actor David Cassidy at the Flatlake Festival in Ireland. She provided funding for "Artane Band" a marching band consisting of teenagers, for the purpose of travel expenses to the festival. In November and December 2009, she was scheduled for a 14 date tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland. In January 2010, Allen was scheduled to appear at the Australian and New Zealand rock festival Big Day Out. Allen is scheduled to be a headliner at the Peace & Love Festival in Sweden in early July.

Other work

Acting career

Allen signed a one series contract to present her own BBC Three TV show entitled Lily Allen and Friends based on the social networking phenomenon that helped to launch her music career. The singer asked her MySpace friends to suggest the name for the show. The guests on the first show that aired in February 2008 were Cuba Gooding Junior and David Mitchell, and later guests included Mark Ronson, Joanna Page, James Corden, Lauren Laverne, Roisin Murphy, Louis Walsh, and Danny Dyer. The show received a 2% share of the total multi-channel audience share despite a high-profile nationwide marketing campaign. Her third show received a 2.7% share. Allen was quoted in a British tabloid as rating the show "probably five out of 10" and said "I made a lot of money out of it".

On 1 April 2008, citing Allen's rapid development as a TV host and her popularity among its target audience BBC Three announced it was renewing Lily Allen and Friends for a second season. On 1 January 2009, she presented a 60-minute programme for 4Music called Lily Allen's 10 Best of British. On 12 January 2009, BBC Three controller Danny Cohen said that the show will not air in the Spring of 2009 as originally scheduled because of music commitments. Cohen noted "She is on the record as doing a second series and we are looking forward to having her back but we don't know at the moment".

The BBC was criticised by several teacher unions for a video shown on Lily Allen and Friends that apparently showed a student running up from behind and pulling down his teachers trousers. The unions said broadcasting this clip was irresponsible and greatly added to the teacher's embarrassment. While introducing the clip Allen called it "kegging" and said "It's very childish, but very funny". On 12 June 2009 Allen filmed a scene on the Australian soap opera Neighbours. She was scheduled to play herself in a scene with Matthew Werkmeister.

Allen performed for the 2008 New Year's Eve episode of Jools Holland's Hootenanny. In February 2009, she performed "The Fear" on GMTV. In the United States she appeared on The Today Show on 10 February 2009, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 16 February 2009, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show on 18 February 2009. On 3 April she performed on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show. On 21 April she was interviewed and performed on The View. She also performed on 24 April on Late Night with David Letterman.

Fashion career

In May 2007, Allen launched a line of dresses, shoes, and accessories entitled Lily Loves. Allen is reported to enjoy a "special relationship" with Chanel that is said to include borrowing clothes and jewellery and being flown in to sit in the front row of their shows. Karl Lagerfeld, the head designer for the company personally hired and photographed Allen for a campaign to promote a luxury line of handbags due to launch in September 2009.

Allen won the 2008 Glamour Women of the Year Awards "Editors Special Award." Allen was nominated for a Highstreet Fashion Award in the category of "Best Dressed Celebrity." In a readers poll for the weekly British style magazine Look, Allen was named the ninth best style role model. Allen has been described by the UK edition of Elle Magazine as a person who is not overly trendy in her fashion choices.

According to a newspaper report Allen told Capital Radio she has done modelling for a unnamed company. . Allen was scheduled to unveil a line of jewellery in September 2009. The line was supposed to have nine ranges and is influenced by Chanel and Dinny Hall.

Allen and her sister were scheduled to open her own clothing store entitled "Lucy In Disguise" on 15 September 2010. On 7 September the pair open a temporary pop up shop that featured vintage designer clothes and a hair stylist for customers.

Philanthropy

Allen has taken an interest in environmental and social concerns. Although the singer is a staunch supporter of the Labour Party, she has been credited with helping inspire a parliamentary rebellion against Prime Minister Gordon Brown when she wrote to all Members of Parliament asking them to back an amendment to an energy bill. She records at Studio A which is currently the only solar powered studio in Europe. Allen has been nominated with nine others for the title of Greenest Star in Playhouse for Disney Playhouse's inaugural Playing for the Planet Awards. She has since confirmed her support for the UK Labour Party and for Prime Minister Gordon Brown in particular.

Allen performed at a benefit concert for War Child, an international child protection agency that works with children affected by war. Backed by Keane, Allen sang "Smile" and "Everybody’s Changing." The singer and The Clash guitarist Mick Jones performed The Clash’s song "Straight to Hell" on a album for the charity Heroes.

Allen received support from the animal rights organisation PETA after a faux fur coat she was spotted wearing was mistaken for a coat made of real fur.

Allen has been named the face of the National Portrait Gallery as part of the gallery's marketing campaign. The picture was photographed by Nadav Kander emblazoned with the words, "Vocalist, Lyricist, Florist" . Allen and Jamie Hince, guitarist for The Kills raised £48,350 for the children’s charity The Hoping Foundation. The pair sang Dream A Little Dream Of Me at a karaoke auction fundraiser.

After the British Government's plans to implement a three strikes policy for file sharing copyright infringement, Lily Allen came out in strong support for disconnecting offenders. Creating a blog entitled "It’s Not Alright" against file sharing, it subsequently came to light that she had copied text directly from the Techdirt website of an interview with 50 Cent. This led to an exchange on the internet, which culminated in accusations being made that Allen had infringed on other artists' copyrights by creating mix tapes early in her career, that she then made available via her website.

On 1 October 2009 Allen and several other musicians released the world's first digital musical petition aimed at pressuring world leaders attending the December 2009 climate change summit in Copenhagen. The petition involved a cover of the song "Beds are Burning" by Midnight Oil.

Image and personal life

Due to her outspokenness, Allen has been the subject of many controversies. Disparaging remarks about musicians Luke Pritchard of The Kooks, Bob Geldof, Amy Winehouse, Kylie Minogue, and Katy Perry have all garnered minor press attention. She later said that making fun of other pop stars was a result of a lack of confidence, saying "I felt like 'Oh God, I'm short, fat, ugly and I hate all these people who flaunt their beauty.'" Photos of her drunk and topless in the Cannes Film Festival were also widely covered in the press. Her appearance at the 2008 Glamour Awards also generated criticism, as she showed up intoxicated wearing a dress covered in decapitated Bambi figures, and had an on-stage, expletive-laced exchange with Elton John. Allen has shown her third nipple on television. Allen feels like she has become a drunk character in a comic. "I wish my comic character wasn't that, but there's nothing I can do." In an interview with Q magazine saying "They’re just tits” Allen revealed she has been flashing people for years partially because of her aversion to bras. On the BBC's Test Match Special on 21 August 2009, she spoke about her love of the game of cricket.

Allen supports Fulham Football Club.

In May 2009 a French football magazine So Foot published a fake interview in which Allen was quoted as making derogatory remarks about David and Victoria Beckham and Ashley and Cheryl Cole. Some of the material was reprinted in the British tabloid The Sun. Both publications later apologized and paid damages to Allen. Citing invasion of privacy and copyright infringement, in November 2010 Allen took legal action against Associated Newspapers, the parent company of the Daily Mail after the Daily Mail published photographs of Allen's home.

In June 2010 she claimed the Brit Awards are fixed, saying "The Brit Awards is a TV show, and a record company executive makes deals with ITV and the producers about who wins what award in exchange for performance time." A spokesperson for the awards said "This process makes it 100 per cent transparent and completely democratic." In August she said the X-Factor is everything she detests about modern western culture.

Allen has spoken out against illegal file sharing and has criticized other musicians by name who support the practice. A group of supporters of the practice launched a denial of service attack dubbed Operation Payback that shut down Allen's website and targeted other critics.

In 2010 Allen bought Old Overtown House, a 17C property set in 8 acres, in the village of Cranham in the Cotswolds, for £3m.

Relationships

In September 2007, Allen began dating musician Ed Simons of the Chemical Brothers. In December 2007, Allen announced that she and Simons were expecting a child. In January 2008, it was revealed that Allen had suffered a miscarriage.

Allen began dating Sam Cooper, the owner of a building company, in the summer of 2009. On 5 August 2010, Allen announced that she was pregnant with her and Cooper's first child, later confirmed to be a boy due early in 2011. Allen's pregnancy involved early complications, including "about a week and a half of really heavy bleeding", leading her to tell The Sunday Times in September 2010 that she had "been living in fear for the past three months". On 30 October 2010, Allen tweeted "Say a little prayer". The following day, on 1 November 2010, Allen's publicist announced that Allen had lost the baby, approximately six months into her pregnancy. Following the announcement several celebrities, including Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and Dannii Minogue, tweeted consolation messages to her. On 5 November Allen tweeted "Thank you for all your kind messages. I'm still very sick but the messages are helping me to be stronger. Thank you x x." However, the next day, on 6 November, Allen was rushed to the hospital, where she responded well to treatment for the blood poisoning condition septicaemia. In December Allen's sister told a British newspaper that Allen will try again to have a child in 2011 saying "she is absolutely determined to be a mum. This is what she wants more than anything in the whole wide world, more than her singing career."

Reception

Allen was included on the NME Cool List for 2006. She was voted the third coolest person of the year in New Musical Express. She ranked "Number One Reason to Love '07" and "Hottest Woman of Pop/R&B.;" in Blender magazine. Allen was also rated number 10 on BBC Three's list of Most Annoying People of 2006. Allen was voted fourth coolest celebrity in a poll taken of 20,000 teenagers by the social networking website Bebo that was released in December 2008.

Rapper Example has recorded a new version of "Smile" called "Vile," which is an answer song written from the perspective of the ex-boyfriend (although he was never actually Allen's boyfriend). Both songs were then parodied by Chris Moyles on his Radio 1 breakfast show in a song called "Piles." "LDN" has spawned an answer song by rapper Sway DaSafo and a remix by UK grime artist JME. Evening Standard columnist Nick Cutis wrote that "Lily Allen and Madonna have arguably done more for female equality with their 'unladylike' swearing in public than with their singing careers." Siouxsie Sioux said Allen and Amy Winehouse are the two current musicians she regards as strong female role models.

In 2009 Allen was the subject of cover stories for both Spin Magazine and Q Magazine. MTV said in February 2009 "She seems less like the model of a 21st century pop star and more like the kind of girlfriend you'd have when you're 22 – the awesome kind you'd go backpacking around Europe with, wear a sarong with. She is perfectly imperfect. Which is why she's probably also the most interesting pop star ever created." Allen's album It's Not Me, It's You has been praised for trying to define the times. Allen said that she does not write songs with a big picture in mind.

In January 2010, The Guardian ran an editorial praising Allen. The editorial noted that at the beginning of 2009 she was on "the well-worn path of celebrity offspring" and complimented her for branching out and tackling subjects other pop stars have not.

Allen's music is used as part of an exhibition at the British Library tracing the history of Cockney English. The exhibition, which runs from 12 November 2010 through 11 April 2011, uses Allen's music to demonstrate today's younger urban mode of Cockney English.

Discography

Alright, Still (2006)

It's Not Me, It's You (2009)

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Lily Allen

References

External links

Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:BBC people Category:BRIT Award winners Category:British television talk show hosts Category:Capitol Records artists Category:English environmentalists Category:English female singers Category:English feminists Category:English people of Welsh descent Category:English pop singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English songwriters Category:English television personalities Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:LGBT rights activists from the United Kingdom Category:Musicians from London Category:Old Bedalians Category:Old Millfieldians Category:People from Hammersmith Category:People from Islington

Name	Malalai Joya ملالی جویا
Caption	Malalai Joya speaking in Australia in March 2007
Birth date	April 25, 1978
Birth place	Farah, Afghanistan
Known for	Criticism of the role the warlords and US/NATO in Afghanistan.
Occupation	Member of Parliament
Residence	Kabul

Malalai Joya (Pashto and Persian: ملالۍ جویا) (born April 25, 1978) is an Afghan politician who has been called "the bravest woman in Afghanistan." As an elected member of the Wolesi Jirga from Farah province, she has publicly denounced the presence of what she considers warlords and war criminals in the parliament. She is an outspoken critic of both the Taliban as well as the present Afghan government of Karzai and its western supporters.

In May 2007, Joya was suspended from the parliament on the grounds that she had insulted fellow representatives in a television interview. Her suspension, which is currently being appealed, has generated protest internationally and appeals for her reinstatement have been signed by high profile writers, intellectuals such as Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky, and politicians including Members of Parliament from Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain. Joya has been compared to the symbol of Burma's democracy movement, Aung San Suu Kyi.

TIME magazine named Malalai Joya to the 2010 TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Foreign Policy Magazine listed Malalai Joya in its annual list of the Top 100 Global Thinkers.

Joya has written a memoir with Canadian writer Derrick O'Keefe. under the title of "Raising My Voice".

Her most memorable quote is: "I don't fear death, I fear remaining silent in the face of injustice."

Early and personal life

The daughter of a former medical student who lost a leg while fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Malalai Joya was 4 years old when her family fled Afghanistan in 1982 to the refugee camps of Iran and later Pakistan. After the Soviet withdrawal, Malalai Joya returned to Afghanistan in 1998 during the Taliban's reign. As a young woman she worked as a social activist and was named a director of the non-governmental group, Organisation of Promoting Afghan Women's Capabilities (OPAWC) in the western provinces of Herat and Farah. She is married.

Speech at the Loya Jirga

Malalai Joya gained international attention in December 2003 when, as an elected delegate to the Loya Jirga convened to ratify the Constitution of Afghanistan, she spoke out publicly against the domination of warlords. In response, Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, chief of the Loya Jirga called her "infidel" and "communist". Since then she has survived four assassination attempts, and travels in Afghanistan under a burqa and with armed guards.

World Pulse Magazine (Issue 1, 2005) wrote:

With her words, she stunned the Loya Jirga and journalists present on the occasion, when she unleashed a three-minute hard-hitting speech accusing the alleged warlords controlling the Loya Jirga of crimes. Joya's controversial stance against these other members of the Loya Jirga have earned her much popularity as well as heavy criticism from her political opponents.

Political appointments and speaking engagements

Joya was elected to the 249-seat National Assembly, or Wolesi Jirga in September 2005, as a representative of Farah Province, winning the second highest number of votes in the province, with 7.3 percent of the vote. At an impromptu news conference after the swearing-in ceremony in December 2005, she offered her "condolences" to the people of Afghanistan "for the presence of warlords, drug lords and criminals" in the Parliament. "The people of Afghanistan have recently escaped the Taliban cage but still they are trapped in the cage of those who are called warlords"

She has continued her stance against the inclusion of alleged war criminals in the current government of Afghanistan.

The BBC has called Joya "the most famous woman in Afghanistan." In a January 27, 2007 interview with BBC News Joya commented on her personal political mission amid continuous death threats, saying:

"They will kill me but they will not kill my voice, because it will be the voice of all Afghan women. You can cut the flower, but you cannot stop the coming of spring."

In 2006, the Washington Post said of Joya: "Her truth is that warlords should not be permitted to hide behind "the mask of democracy to hold on to their chairs" and their pernicious pursuits at the expense of poor, "barefoot" Afghans who remain voiceless and disillusioned. The warlords are corrupt "war criminals" who should be tried, and incorrigible "drug dealers" who brought the country to its knees, she said."

Malalai Joya appeared at the Federal Convention of Canada's New Democratic Party (NDP) in Quebec City on September 10, 2006, supporting party leader Jack Layton and the NDP's criticism of the NATO-led mission in southern Afghanistan. She said, "No nation can donate liberation to another nation."

On September 13 she addressed gatherings at McGill University in Montreal and at the University of Ottawa, where she expressed her disappointment with US actions in Afghanistan.

After her speech, Prof. Denis Rancourt of the University of Ottawa, wrote in an article about Joya: "Her talk was a sharp blade cutting thru the thick web of US-Canada war propaganda... All MPs need to take a lesson from Malalai Joya.",

Malalai was in Sydney, Australia, on March 8, 2007, as a guest of UNIFEM, speaking about women's rights in Afghanistan in honor of International Women's Day.

Malalai returned to Canada in November 2007 and addressed 400 people at the Steelworkers Hall on Cecil Street in Toronto. She then addressed a small group of union activists and activists at the Ontario Federation of Labour.

In November 2008 Malalai visited the Norway Social Forum, and spoke before the 1900 participants. She also participated in a debate with the Norwegian Foreign Minister, and asked Norway to pull its troops out of Afghanistan.

In December 2008, Malalai Joya was invited by Amnesty International India to New Delhi for the International Week of Justice Festival, December 5–10, 2008, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Joya participated in two public forums for the festival at Jamia Millia Islamia and Alliance Francaise on the issues related to post-war Afghanistan, female empowerment and torture.

Spain's popular "20 Minutos" newspaper in its list of "The world's most beautiful female politicians", puts Malalai Joya in the 54th place, getting 1053 votes from its readers for her.

In October–November 2009 Joya was on book tour to the US and Canada and addressed many anti-war rallies and gatherings. She called for withdrawal of all troops from Afghanistan.

When Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, in an article syndicated by the New York Times, Noam Chomsky wrote: "The Nobel Peace Prize committee might well have made truly worthy choices, prominent among them the remarkable Afghan activist Malalai Joya."

On November 24, 2009, The New Statesman (UK) ranked Malalai Joya in the sixth place on its list of "The 50 people who matter today... for good and ill", calling her "Afghanistan's answer to Aung San Suu Kyi."

Parliament statements, attack, and suspension

On May 7, 2006, Malalai Joya was physically and verbally attacked by fellow members of parliament after accusing several colleagues of being "warlords" and unfit for service in the new Afghan government. "I said there are two kinds of mujahedeen in Afghanistan," Joya told the Associated Press. "One kind fought for independence, which I respect, but the other kind destroyed the country and killed 60,000 people." In response, angered lawmakers shouted death threats and threw empty plastic water bottles at Joya, who was shielded by sympathetic colleagues.

In response to such threats, Joya continues to speak out against those she believes to be former mujahedeen in Afghanistan, stating:

}}

On May 21, 2007, fellow members of the Wolesi Jirga voted to suspend Malalai Joya for three years from the legislature, citing that she had broken Article 70 of the Parliament, which had banned Wolesi Jirga members from openly criticizing each other. Joya had compared the Wolesi Jirga to a "stable or zoo" on a recent TV interview, and later called other members of parliament "criminals" and "drug smugglers." She is reported to have referred to the House as "worse than a stable", since "(a) stable is better, for there you have a donkey that carries a load and a cow that provides the milk."

, on behalf of the Regional Council of Tuscany gives Malalai Joya a prestigious Gold Medal.]]

Joya said the vote was a "political conspiracy" and that she had been told Article 70 was written specifically for her saying "since I've started my struggle for human rights in Afghanistan, for women's rights, these criminals, these drug smugglers, they've stood against me from the first time I raised my voice at the Loya Jirga."

In a statement Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, wrote: "Malalai Joya is a staunch defender of human rights and a powerful voice for Afghan women, and she shouldn't have been suspended from parliament."

People in Farah, Nangarhar, Baghlan, Kabul and some other provinces of Afghanistan staged protests against Joya's suspension.

On June 21, 2007, one month after Joya was suspended, Joya supporters in Melbourne staged protests to the Afghan government to reinstate Joya to the parliament. In November 2007, an international letter was launched with a number of prominent signatories supporting the call for her reinstatement to parliament.

In January 2008, after her suspension, Joya spoke to Rachel Shields and said that the government was not democratically elected and they were "trying to use the country's Islamic law as a tool with which to limit women's rights."

On April 18, 2008, the Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, unanimously adopted a resolution at its 182nd session in Cape Town in favour of Malalai Joya which "Calls on the authorities at the same time to do everything in their power to identify and bring to justice those making the death threats against Ms. Joya."

On October 7, 2008, six women Nobel Peace Prize laureates in the history of the Nobel Prize (Shirin Ebadi, Jody Williams, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchu, Betty Williams and Mairead Maguire) in a joint statement supported Malalai Joya: "We commend this courage, and call for Joya’s reinstatement to Afghanistan’s national parliament… Like our sister Aung San Suu Kyi, Joya is a model for women everywhere seeking to make the world more just."

During her suspension, Malalai Joya, stayed active by giving interviews to western journalists and by writing articles for western newspapers on her views on the situation of Afghanistan. In 2009 she made a tour through the United States and Canada to advocate her cause and to promote her book.

Shukria Barakzai, a fellow MP and women's rights activist, has also criticised the legislature in similar terms: "Our parliament is a collection of lords. Warlords, drug lords, crime lords." She defended Malalai Joya, reporting that some parliamentarians threatened to rape her.

Announcement of political comeback

In February 2010, at the event of the presentation in Paris of "Au nom de mon peuple", the French publication of her memoir “A Woman Among Warlords”, Joya expressed her wish to make a political comeback in the Afghan parliamentary elections scheduled for September. Allegedly, supporters in five Afghan provinces asked her to represent them. These included Nangarhar, Nimroz, Takhar, Kabul and also Farah — the western province that sent her first to the loya jirga that ratified the Constitution, then elected her to Parliament in 2005. Preparing for her comeback, she said she would prefer for security reasons to run as a candidate in the capital. However, at the occasion of the marriage of one of her body guards in July 2010, she revoked her earlier announcement to participate in the parliamentary elections.

90-second historical speech

Her speech in the Loya Jirga Meeting, Kabul, December 17, 2003:

Controversy and criticism

Joya has more recently drawn harsh criticism from some female parliamentary members who contend that her remarks pertaining to the Mujahideen, who battled the Soviets, are unwarranted and disingenuous. However, Joya's supporters contend that Joya distinguishes between the "real Mujahideen," who fought for the independence of Afghanistan, and the warlords and those who committed war crimes.

Autobiography

", which was published in the US/Canada under the title of "A Woman Among Warlords"]] Joya has written a memoir with Canadian writer Derrick O'Keefe. The US and Canadian version of the book was published in October 2009 by Scribner under the title of A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice in 224 pages. The Australian and British versions have already been published by Pan Macmillan and Rider under the title of Raising My Voice: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice. It has so far been published in German titled Ich erhebe meine Stimme - Eine Frau kämpft gegen den Krieg in Afghanistan, in Norwegian under the title Kvinne blant krigsherrer - Afghanistans modigste stemme and in Dutch under the title Een vrouw tussen krijgsheren.

The book will be available, in translation, in France (titled Au nom de mon peuple), Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Indonesia and Israel.

Kirkus Reviews write about Joya's book: "A chilling, vital memoir that reveals hidden truths about Afghanistan and directly addresses the misguided policies of the United States."

Library Journal writes: "This book will interest those who seek stories of real-life heroines risking death every day for their nation."

Publishers Weekly writes: "Joya was outspoken in condemning these warlords she called “criminals” and “antiwomen,” enduring the shutting off of her microphone, assassination threats and, finally, suspension from Parliament. Joya is on a dangerous, eye-opening mission to uncover truth and expose the abuse of power in Afghanistan, and her book will work powerfully in her favor."

The New York Times Book Review writes: "(...) bears witness to the horrific experience known as “being female in Afghanistan.”

Noam Chomsky writes: "Perhaps the most remarkable feature of this inspiring memoir is that despite the horrors she relates, Malalai Joya leaves us with hope that the tormented people of Afghanistan can take their fate into their own hands if they are released from the grip of foreign powers, and that they can reconstruct a decent society from the wreckage left by decades of intervention and the merciless rule of the Taliban and the warlords who the invaders have imposed upon them."

Awards and honors

January 2004, The Cultural Union of Afghans in Europe, awarded her the "Malalai of Maiwand" award for her brave speech in the Loya Jirga.

December 2004, the Valle d'Aosta Province of Italy awarded her the International Women of the Year 2004 Award.

March 15, 2006, Tom Bates, Mayor of Berkeley presented a certificate of honor to her for "her continued work on behalf of human rights".

March 2006, she got the "Gwangju Award for Human Rights 2006" from May 18th Foundation in South Korea.

Aug.2006, the Women's Peacepower Foundation awarded Joya "Women of Peace award 2006".

She was named among the "1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005"

The World Economic Forum selected Joya among 250 Young Global Leaders for 2007.

2007 Golden Fleur-de-Lis (Giglio d'Oro) award given by Town Council of Toscana Region of Italy (July 23, 2007).

September 11, 2007, The European Parliament named Joya among five nominees for Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2007.

October 6, 2007, Commune of Viareggio city of Italy awarded her the Mare Nostrum Award.

October 9, 2007, Commune of the Provincia di Arezzo, Comune di Bucine and Comune di Supino in Italy present Honorary citizenships to her.

November 2007, The 14th Angel Award by The Angel Festival, CA, USA.

February 11, 2008, Malalai Joya and the documentary "Enemies of Happiness" was honoured with the "International Human Rights Film Award" by Amnesty International, Cinema for Peace and Human Rights Film Network. The award was given to her by two times academy award winning actress Hilary Swank.

October 6, 2008, Malalai Joya received the Anna Politkovskaya Award in London, which is given to courageous women who have defended human rights.

October 21, 2008, Regional Council of Tuscany (Italy) presented Malalai Joya a Gold Medal.

March 28, 2009, International Anti-discrimination Award 2009 by Dutch Unity is Strength Foundation, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

November 8, 2009, US Member of Congress Barbara Lee Honors Malalai Joya.

April 29, 2010, named to the 2010 TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.,

June 23, 2010, Spanish daily El Mundo awards Yo Dona International award of "premio a la Labor Humanitaria" to Malalai in Madrid.

September 27, 2010, British Magazine New Statesman listed Malalai Joya in the list of "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010".

October 10, 2010, Italian Swiss University of Peace gave its International Award "Donna dell'Anno 2010" (woman of the year 2010) to Malalai Joya.

November 4, 2010, As part of the Forbes The World’s Most Powerful People package, American playwright, performer and activist Eve Ensler, founder of V-Day, named The World's Seven Most Powerful Feminists, Malalai Joya was one of them.

November 28, 2010, Foreign Policy Magazine listed Malalai Joya in its annual list of the Top 100 Global Thinkers.

Films

Malalai Joya champions rape victims, 2008, by Glyn Strong.

Enemies of Happiness, 2006, directed by Eva Mulvad.

A Woman Among Warlords (2007). Directed by Eva Mulvad. Aired on the Wide Angle TV series in September 2007.

Afghanistan Unveiled 2004, by Nicolas Delloye, Aina Productions

Malalai Joya (Samia's Wedding), August 2010, by Glyn Strong

References

External links

Defense Committee for Malalai Joya

The Afghan Women's Mission

Malalai Joya on Facebook

Malalai Joya on ZSpace

Friends and Supporters of Malalai Joya on Facebook

"Malalai Joya: The woman who will not be silenced"

Malalai Joya A history of women in Afghanistan - an extract from Raising My Voice

'A troop surge can only magnify the crime against Afghanistan' - Guardian, November 30, 2009

'Liberation was just a big lie' - Toronto Star, November 19, 2009

The bravest woman in Afghanistan - Globe and Mail, November 19, 2009

A Woman Among Warlords: Afghan Democracy Activist Malalai Joya Defies Threats to Challenge US Occupation, Local Warlords - Democracy Now!, October 28, 2009

Malalai Joya on HARDtalk program of BBC - BBC News, May 21, 2009

MP for Farah Province condemns NATO bombings - Z Magazine, May 16, 2009

A voice of hope for Afghanistan's women - Z Magazine, The Age, April 14, 2009

A brave woman in Afghanistan - The Guardian Magazine, December 1, 2008

Bearing Witness: The Afghan Tragedy, By Malalai Joya - The Nation Magazine, October 7, 2008

Afghan MP receives courage award - Channel 4 (UK), October 6, 2008

Bravest Woman in Afghanistan Podcast Interview with Malalai Joya by the International Museum of Women. July 16, 2008.

"Canada should change its policy on Afghanistan," by Malalai Joya, Rabble News, March 3, 2008

Defense Committee for Malalai Joya

"Suspended Afghan parliamentarian to visit Canada", by Gina Whitfield, Rabble News, October 24, 2007

Malalai Joya: courage under fire - Telegraph Magazine, September 29, 2007

Interview with Malalai Joya:"The 'war on terror' is a mockery!" - AfterDowningStreet.org, September 24, 2007

The woman vs. the warlords: a post-9/11 story - The Ottawa Citizen, September 11, 2007

Because Someone Had to Do It - The American Prospect Magazine, June 25, 2007

It's hard to imagine a more brave parliamentarian than Malalai Joya - The Progressive Magazine, June 10, 2007

Afghan parliament suspends outspoken female lawmaker after critical TV interview - The Associated Press, May 21, 2007

Quiet voice speaking up for Afghan women - The Daily Telegraph, March 7, 2007

Interview with Malalai Joya: Afghan woman armed with a strong voice - NOW on PBS, March 2, 2007

ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS Winner in the 2007 Sundance Film Festival - Deseret Morning News, January 29, 2007

Afghan MP Malalai Joya opens the fall season of Ottawa University's "Science in Society" Course

Afghan Legislator, Malalai Joya - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Dec 29, 2005

Malalai Joya: Confronting Afghan warlords - The Peninsula (Qatar's Daily), Nov 24, 2005

Profile: Malalai Joya - BBC News, Nov 12, 2005

The Woman Who Defies Warlords - World Pulse Magazine, 2005

Malalai Joya is part of modern Afghan history - Agence-France Presse, Oct 24, 2005

Female foe of warlords faces them in Afghan assembly - Reuters, Oct 6, 2005

The women of Afghanistan find a leader - New Statesman, Sept 19, 2005

Malalai Joya Discusses Continuing Violence and Upcoming Elections in Afghanistan - Democracy Now, Sept 13, 2004

A populist hero emerges from under the rule of the gun - The Globe and Mail, July 27, 2004

Joya Speech Breaks Wall of Silence - Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Dec 22, 2003

Delegate lashes out at Afghan council - Associated Press, Dec 17, 2003

An Afghan Voice That Fear Won't Silence - By Nora Boustany, The Washington Post, March 17, 2006

Malalai Joya listed as top highlight of 2006 - Seven Oaks Magazine, Dec 31, 2006

Karzai government treats women as brutally as did the Taliban: An Interview With Afghan MP Malalai Joya by Asad Ismi, CCPA Monitor, December 2007-January 2008

Malalai Joyia: On a visit to the Ontario Federation of Labour. 06 November, 2007, Toronto, Ontario. Flickr.

Malalai Joya Interview - 25th January 2010 and Extended Interview - Malalai Joya- 29 January 2010

Videos

Movie Clip of Loya Jirga incident

Video of CNN interview with Malalai Joya

some movie clips of Malalai Joya on Vimeo

some movie clips of Malalai Joya on Youtube.com

Malalai Joya interview, from Democracy Now! program, June 19, 2007

Sargeant Matthis Chiroux apologises to Afghan Malalai Joya, Vimeo.com, April 22, 2009

Interview: A woman among warlords, from The Real News, November 21, 2009

Lecture of Malalai Joya in Brown University, October 25, 2009

Malalai Joya and the Tale of 2 CNNs, antiwar.org, October 28, 2009

Malalai Joya Defies Threats to Challenge US Occupation, Local Warlords - video report by Democracy Now!

Malalai Joya interviewed by Cindy Sheehan, 10 Nov 2009 - Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox

Category:Afghan feminists Category:Afghan women in politics Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:Members of the House of the People (Afghanistan) Category:People from Farah Province