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'{{Infobox person |birth_date= |birth_place= |other_names=Z |occupation=[[Barber]], [[cosmetologist]] |father=[[Abdul Zahir (politician)|Abdul Zahir]] |mother= Quraisha |relatives= [[Ahmad Zahir]] (brother) |spouse= |education=Zarghuna High School }} '''Zahira Zahir''' is a [[Washington DC|Washington]] [[barber]] and [[cosmetologist]].<ref name=Cnn2001-12-01/><ref name=NewYorkTimes20030320> {{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/20/world/kabul-journal-the-afghan-elvis-lives-24-years-after-his-death.html | title= Kabul Journal; The Afghan Elvis 'Lives' 24 Years After His Death | work=[[New York Times]] | author=Amy Waldman | date=March 20, 2003 | access-date=2008-02-03 }}</ref><ref name=NationReview20050920> {{Cite news | url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/thomson200509200821.asp | title=Above & Beyond: Profiles of Afghan commitment | work=[[National Review]] | author=John R. Thomson | author-link=John R. Thomson | date=September 20, 2005 | access-date=2008-02-03 }}</ref><ref name=CnnZahiraZahir20011202> {{Cite news | url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0112/02/sm.04.html | title=The Life of the President's Barber | work=[[CNN]] | date=December 2, 2001 | access-date=2008-02-03 }}</ref> Zahira's salon is in the [[Watergate hotel]]. She is known for cutting the hair of [[United States President]] [[George W. Bush]]. The President's nickname for her is Z. ==Early life== Zahira is the daughter of [[Abdul Zahir (politician)|Abdul Zahir]], who was the [[Prime Minister of Afghanistan]] from 1972 to 1972.<ref name=NewYorkTimes20030320/> She is also the older sister of [[Ahmad Zahir]], called the "Afghan Elvis". They belong to the Tajik ethnic group and originally from the Laghman province of Afghanistan and had [[Dari (Persian)]] as their native language. <ref>Mohammad Sediq Farhang. خاطرات میر محمد صدیق فرهنگ (2016 ed.). shahmbookco. p. 363 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWPXiQzWkAEavcH?format=jpg&name=large</ref> <ref>Tolo Tv Documentary 1:27 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVMTdPwdF4o&t=150s </ref> <ref>Close friend and Biographer استاد صفی الله ثبات https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPGamLSWSPI</ref> Zahira is a graduate of, and later a teacher at, [[List of schools in Afghanistan|Zarghuna High School]], reported to have been the leading school for girls in Kabul. ==American life== Zahira moved to the United States in 1975, when her husband was Afghanistan's envoy to the [[United Nations]].<ref name=Despardes> {{Cite news | url=http://www.despardes.com/newsmakers/2003/sep4-afghan-hairstylist.htm | title=Hairstylist has the ears of politicians | work=[[Seattle Post Intelligencer]] | date=September 4, 2003 | access-date=2008-02-03 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040419171624/http://www.despardes.com/newsmakers/2003/sep4-afghan-hairstylist.htm | archive-date=April 19, 2004 }}</ref> After the [[Saur Revolution|Communist coup]] in 1978 her brother was murdered, her father put under house arrest, and all her family's assets were seized.<ref name=Despardes/> Around the time of the Communist coup in Afghanistan she and her husband separated.<ref> {{Cite news | url=http://www.discovery.org/a/2145 | title=Making the World Better | work=[[Washington Times]] | author=Richard Rahn | author-link=Richard Rahn | date=July 29, 2004 | access-date=2008-02-01 }}</ref> Zahira described working for [[Milton Pitts]], President [[Ronald Reagan]]'s barber, accompanying him to the [[White House]] to give the President a manicure while he got his hair cut, and being asked whether Reagan should authorize giving the Afghan resistance [[stinger missiles]].<ref name=Despardes/> Zahira also started cutting [[George H. W. Bush]]'s hair, as well as [[Barbara Bush]],<ref name=Despardes/> [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]], [[Margaret Thatcher]] and other dignitaries.<ref>[http://afghanland.com/entertainment/music/ahmadzahir.html Ahmad Zahir]</ref> She described feeling hurt by the number of customers she lost following [[al Qaeda]]'s attacks on [[September 11, 2001]], and being brought to tears by George H.W. Bush's thoughtfulness. He contacted her personally, following the attacks, telling her: {{quote|I hope you're OK and that no one thinks you have anything to do with this.}} When he learned of the prejudice she was experiencing he sent her an autographed photo, and organized autographed photos from several other Presidents who knew her.<ref name=Despardes/> ==Legacy== In 2003, Zahira raised funds to restore schools for girls in [[Kabul]].<ref name=NewYorkTimes20030320/><ref name=NationReview20050920/><ref name=WashingtonTimes2003-02-10/> ==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=Cnn2001-12-01> {{cite news | url = http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/12/02/gen.bush.barber/index.html | title = Afghan woman cuts Bush's hair | work = [[CNN]] | date = 2001-12-01 | location = [[Washington DC]] | access-date = 2017-08-27 | quote = She especially needs the money, she said, after losing dozens of clients since September 11. She said she believes they stopped coming because she's from Afghanistan. }} </ref> <!-- <ref name=Wapo2003-07-11> {{cite news | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/07/11/working-on-their-hair-she-gets-their-ears/2c6e8676-3e0f-40a3-ba0e-f52e891aa70d/ | title = Working on Their Hair, She Gets Their Ears | work = [[Washington Post]] | author = Nora Boustany | date = 2003-07-11 | access-date = 2017-08-27 }} </ref> --> <ref name=WashingtonTimes2003-02-10> {{cite news | url = http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2003/feb/10/20030210-010917-5285r/ | title = Inside the Beltway | work = [[The Washington Times]] | date = 2003-02-10 | access-date = 2017-08-27 | quote = No, the current president's father won't be swinging a hammer like former President Jimmy Carter. Rather, the senior Mr. Bush will deliver the keynote address Wednesday at a Watergate Hotel fund-raiser for the Friends of Zahira's Schools. }} </ref> }} ==External links== *[http://www.zahiraschools.org www.zahiraschools.org] {{DEFAULTSORT:Zahir, Zahira}} [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category: Afghan Tajik people]] [[Category:Afghan emigrants to the United States]] [[Category:American people of Afghan descent]] [[Category:People from Washington, D.C.]] [[Category:Barbers]]'