Kashmir’s only Women Rock Band quits after a Mufti issued fatwa against it

Pragaash Band

Women cannot Sing in Kashmir, at least this is what is declared by the Fatwa issued against its First All Girls Rock Band Pragaash.

The  three teenage members of Pragaash decided to quit, a day after Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad  issued a decree terming singing as un-Islamic and asked them to abandon it.
The girls had defied convention by stepping into the male-dominated field but faced online threats and abuses from conservative sections of the society. The Girls also received several life threats.

“I have said, singing is not in accordance with Islamic teachings,” Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad further said.

“Such trivial acts (singing and playing instruments) never develop society but are a first step to demolish its moral fabric. I am happy that the new generation has attained a pro-development and pro-religion stance but there are some girls treading on the path of destruction,” Mufti said in a statement. “They should stop from such activities and not to get influenced by the support of political leadership,” he said.

He said, he has advised the members of the first all-girls rock band of Kashmir to abandon singing as “it is against Islamic teachings and will not help them in playing any constructive role in the society.”

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was among large number of people who came out in support of the girls. Omar even reportedly dismissed the decree on his Twitter page but removed the Tweet later.

“Omar Abdullah backing the rock band (is) because the dynasty he belongs to have since long disassociated itself from Islamic and ethical values. Though in a civilised society there is no place for coercion and force, yet there are some values a citizen has to adopt to safeguard the ethical, moral and religious traditions,” said Ayaz Akbar,spokesman of Syed Ali Geelani.

However there have been opposition to Mufti’s Fatwa too. “The grand-mufti, who termed the girl music band un-Islamic and trivial, has never come out with a statement when women perform traditional dancing like Rouf on government functions like Independence Day and Republic Day, or when radio and TV broadcast traditional songs. Why now?” said Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, an Imam of a mosque in old city.

The band ‘Pragaash (morning light)’ consisting of three schoolgirls, vocalist-guitarist Noma Nazir, drummer Farah Deeba and guitarist Aneeka Khalid, performed their first live performance at Srinagar’s music festival, Battle of the Bands in December last year. After their performance, some facebook users uploaded a picture of the performance which generated praises from some and abuses from few on the social networking websites. They also received online threats and absurd comments, forcing them to keep a low profile.

Though there are dozens of bands currently playing popular music of different genres in the valley, the girls -vocalist-guitarist Noma Nazir, drummer Farah Deeba and guitarist Aneeka Khalid (all students of 10th standard) -formed the first all-girls rock band by the name of “Pragaash” (light) and won the best performance award in their first public appearance.

Kashmir has decades’ old history of recognizing public singing and dancing by women on festivals, marriages and cultural programs, although considered un-Islamic by the clergy. Men and women would enjoy the songs of women singers like Zuna Begun and Raj Begum for the past five decades. Among modern singers Shamima Dev, wife of union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, has become a household name.

It seems that while women of Rest of India are living in 21st Century, the Women in Kashmir valley are forced to live back in 18th Century.