Having gone from being a child forced to leave the dangers of her homeland to coming back 15 years later as the largest source of employment for those from that very area, the life of Neelab Saraabi could have already been told as a success story. However, helping to employ over 1,500 Afghan artisans and over 5,000 artisans from 30 different countries wasn’t enough of an impact for Saraabi, so she set out to help others by addressing the hard-hitting topics of life. 

“When I was younger, anytime I got sick my mom would give me an herbal mix of medicine. It was bitter and hard to swallow, so she added sugar to it and it became bearable to swallow,” explains Saraabi. “Much later in life, when I realized how sick the society is, I also realized how bitter that messaging is. That is when I decided to add the sugar, which is laughter.”

A successful woman in the marketing world with features on the Today Show, Teen People’s Magazine, Elle Girl and The Wired, Saraabi could have comfortably lived off of her business skills, but witnessing the injustices that other Afghan women face made her life anything but comfortable. The discrimination of women like her made Saraabi determined to use comedy to open the ears of others to the hardships of her peers.

“Whatever our platform is, we all have the same mission, to build ourselves up and then hold someone else’s hand and scaffold their independence,” preaches Saraabi. 

Much like marketing, the world of comedy has proven successful for Saraabi, as she has already been apart of an Iranian comedy Canadian tour and is set to kick off her own “Unbreakable” tour in Orange County on July 20th. Performing as the first female standup comedian from Afghanistan, Saraabi’s sets hit harder than most typical comedy routines; for instance, in one of her performances she came out singing along to the freeing lyrics of a Rumi poem while undressing from a burka.

“Many laughed at the jokes, but most audience members applauded for taking a strong stance against injustices that Afghan women face and welcomed a woman talking about it,” recalls Saraabi. “I never saw myself using comedy, but I often saw myself making a strong statement and standing up for the rights of those like me.”

Aside from her Unbreakable tour, a powerful comedy set from Saraabi can be seen at EmpowerCon 2019, as she will share an impactful message in a lighthearted manner as one outlet of the event’s entertainment. 

“By the end of the EmpowerCon session, I want people to leave with a smile on their face, and a message in their hearts that some of us are lucky enough to have the opportunity to be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves,”says Saraabi.