Some speakers arrive at Cannes Lions with impressive careers.
Others arrive with extraordinary stories.
When Afghan rapper and activist Sonita Alizadeh took to the stage at Cannes Lions 2025, she brought both.
Her story is remarkable. As a teenager, she faced the prospect of being sold into marriage – a fate experienced by countless girls around the world. Instead, she found her voice through music and transformed her personal struggle into a global movement.
The result was “Daughters for Sale”, a song that would eventually be heard around the world and help change the course of her life.
Finding a Voice Through Rap
Alizadeh explained that creativity was not initially an obvious path.
Living in Iran as an undocumented Afghan refugee, she was searching for a way to express the anger, frustration and heartbreak she felt about the stories surrounding her.
She experimented with poetry. She explored pop music.
Then she discovered rap.
Listening to artists such as Eminem, she realised the genre allowed her to tell longer, more complex stories while channelling powerful emotions.
Rap became her tool.
“It was the only way for me to empty myself of the stories I needed to share,” she explained.
There was just one problem.
In Iran, women were not permitted to perform rap publicly.
So she and her friends improvised.
The Song That Changed Everything
Using a makeshift recording space lined with egg cartons and basic soundproofing materials, Alizadeh recorded “Daughters for Sale”, a song confronting the reality of child marriage.
She never expected what happened next.
The song went viral.
Its raw honesty, emotional power and bravery resonated far beyond Iran and Afghanistan.
For Alizadeh, writing the song was painful.
But it was also liberating.
Once the words were out in the world, she felt free.
The song would go on to become an international symbol of resistance against child marriage and helped bring global attention to an issue affecting millions of girls.
Creativity With Purpose
Throughout the conversation, Alizadeh returned repeatedly to the idea that creativity should serve a purpose.
For her, music is not simply entertainment.
It is a way of telling stories that might otherwise remain unheard.
When writing new songs, she said she focuses on staying close to the truth rather than worrying whether people might be uncomfortable with the message.
The most important stories are often the hardest to tell.
“I talk about topics that are heart-heavy and difficult to hear,” she explained.
That commitment to authenticity has become central to her identity as an artist and activist.
The Power of Dreams
One of the most memorable themes of the session was the importance of dreaming.
Alizadeh spoke about programmes she attended as a young woman that encouraged participants to imagine futures beyond their current circumstances.
The experience had a profound effect on her life.
Today, she works to bring similar opportunities to young people in Afghanistan, encouraging them to believe in possibilities that may seem unreachable.
Dreams, she suggested, are not a luxury.
They are a necessity.
For young people facing difficult circumstances, the ability to imagine a different future can be transformative.
Help, Don’t Pity
The discussion also touched on how people respond to suffering and injustice.
Alizadeh urged audiences to choose help over pity.
People facing hardship do not need sympathy alone, she suggested. They need opportunities, education and support.
They need to feel seen and heard.
It was a message rooted in her own experience.
The intervention of people who believed in her potential helped create opportunities that changed her life. Education opened doors. Creativity amplified her voice.
Now she hopes to create similar opportunities for others.
A Message Beyond Music
Today, Alizadeh’s work extends far beyond rap.
She continues to advocate for girls’ education, women’s rights and greater opportunities for young people across Afghanistan and beyond.
Yet despite international recognition, documentaries, awards and appearances on global stages, her message at Cannes Lions remained remarkably simple.
Use whatever tool is available to you.
For her, that tool happened to be rap.
For someone else it might be writing, filmmaking, teaching, entrepreneurship or technology.
The medium matters less than the willingness to use it.
As the session drew to a close, Alizadeh left the audience with a powerful reminder that felt particularly relevant in a festival dedicated to creativity.
Stories can change minds.
Education can change lives.
And sometimes a dream can become the most powerful weapon of all.
Unsurprisingly, Sonita is the 2025 Cannes LionHeart Award Recipient.
