Brooklyn-based Pakistani vocalist Arooj Aftab, who became the first Pakistani woman to bag the coveted Grammy Award in the Best Global Performance category for her song 'Mohabbat', has faced quite a few challenges to achieve the feat.

Arooj was born to Pakistani parents in Saudi Arabia. She spent her teenage years in Lahore. Her parents often held musical evenings at their home in Lahore, but Aftab was not allowed to take music lessons, which they believed would impact her studies.