About
Learn more about Saleha's life and career.
Saleha Waheb Wassel
Humanitarian , Poet and Artist
PROFESIONAL CAREER
Saleha Waheb Wassel was born in 1960 in Kabul, Afghanistan. She spent most of her youth in Afghanistan where she finished her Master’s degree in Business and Marketing. In 1989, she migrated to the Netherlands and continued her education in various scientific fields such as nursing, computer sciences, and business administration. Similar to her education, Saleha’s artistic career is not limited to only one field. It entails a colorful spectrum of creativity mixed with genuine talent and diligence. In this vein, Wassel is a professional painter as well as a poet. In 1978, she won her first painting prize at an Inter-Asia competition. Additionally, she has engaged with the newer art forms and makes digital designs. Her body of work consists of 33 literary pieces, out of which 26 have been published.
During her formative years, Saleha showed early signs of substantial talent that led to the publication of her poems in “Atfal magazine”, a magazine for the children of Afghanistan. Saleha’s work was praised by her teachers and her classmates were fans of her poetry. Ever since she has realized the power and the joy that she brings to others through her poetry, she has not stopped writing and expressing herself through art. Saleha’s authentic expressions in various artistic mediums such as poetry, painting, music, and digital design reflect her adventurous and inspiring life marked with the experience of migration, womanhood, and diligent attempts for understanding art and its workings in society.
Saleha Wassel uses her writing skills together with her gift of poetry and understanding of art in order to inspire and move her audience. Her poetry mostly written in Indian and Khorasanian classic styles deals with various concepts such as human rights, the idea of the hometown, love, war, and migration on a deep philosophical level. Her magnum opus, The Lost Pearl, contains a wide range of poems that touch upon various literary traditions of Persian poetry including Sufism and mysticism. Simultaneously, The Lost Pearl engages with romanticism and lyric poetry. Saleha appropriates the medium of poetry in order to represent the oppressed inner voice of the women of Afghanistan that do not get the chance to speak their truth. Her poetry attempts to demonstrate the power and value of freedom of expression for all human beings regardless of their gender.
Achievements
During her career, Wassel has engaged with various cultural associations. In 2005, for two consecutive years, she became a member of the Roshan association. In 2007, she joined AKIS in Austria. From 2009 up until 2013, she was appointed as the editor, designer, and responsible director of Banu magazine. In 2012, she was selected as the president of the women's association at the UvAviN, the union of Afghan associations in the Netherlands. Additionally, in 2012, she founded OFoundation which is a family-oriented NGO. In 2015, she created an online Dari dictionary (Qamoose Kabire Aghanistan) which is a work in development up until this day. In 2016, she became a member of the Afghan-German Universities Association in Bonn. In 2019, Saleha Waheb Wassel became a member of the Afghan Pen Association. In 2022, Saleh Waheb Wassel became a member of Sabzmanesh, a global cultural development foundation where she was appointed as the head and representative from the Netherlands. Wassel actively participates and creates content for sites such as Afghan-German Online, 24Sahat, Jame Ghor, Guftoman, Noor, Rawzana. Wassel has participated in more than 30 literary, Afghanistan Diaspora, and cultural conferences across Europe.
Certificate, Honors and Diplomas
Throughout the years, Saleha has obtained a great number of certificates, honours, and diplomas. Click more to find out about it all.