Written by: Mahnoor Fatima
Posted on: March 09, 2020 | 
| 中文
Dr. Fawzia Afzal-Khan at PNCA, Islamabad
Pakistan is immensely lucky to have within its history beautiful, talented and strong-willed female singers, who used skill and grace to cement their roles in the country’s popular culture. Dr. Fawzia Afzal-Khan seeks to pay tribute to their lives with her book, “Siren Song: Understanding Pakistan Through its Women Singers”. After launching at Karachi Literature Festival 2020, the book came to Islamabad on a rainy evening at the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA). It took place as the first collaboration between Asian Study Group and PNCA. The Chief Guest was the Minister of Education and Professional Training, and of National History and Literary Heritage, Mr. Shafqat Mehmood.
Dr. Afzal-Khan is an academic at Montclair University, a writer, a performer who also trained as a classical singer for almost a decade. A north Indian classical music enthusiast and English Professor wrapped in one, Dr. Afzal-Khan has a master’s and PhD degree from Tufts University, after getting a bachelor’s degree from Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore. Although she has specialized in Gender and Post-Colonial Theory, she has felt a deep pull to her musical and theatrical roots, due to which she played in Jazz groups and acted in Ajoka Theatre plays. For her, it was important to keep her passion and her career together, and both these interests coalesced in this book.
Malika Pukhraj in 1970
“In a way, with this book I’m going back to my first love. It connected me to that time of my life when I was leaving Pakistan. It’s a part of me that I left behind to pursue other interests…I’ve remained very attached to Pakistan, and the thing pulling me back, besides my parents, was the music…”
Madame Noor Jehan
This is her latest book, with a vibrant title designed by renowned Pakistani artist Shehzil Malik. In the introduction to the book she says, ‘Siren Song’ investigates the ways female singers have not only contributed to the art of classical music, but also to the popular culture of Pakistan. It follows the likes of Malika Pukhraj, Roshanara Begum, Tahira Syed, Reshma, Madame Noor Jehan, Iqbal Bano, Farida Khanum and ends with the rise of Abida Parveen and Sufi Pop in the late 80s. The book discusses how they navigated the society and obstacles which each era brought for them. While Madame Noor Jehan’s sheer star power allowed her to retain respect whilst living an alternative lifestyle, others like Roshanara Begum dealt with their obstacles in a more subtle manner.
But what they have in common was an unmatched talent that allowed them to remain in the hearts of the people. Unfortunately, what they also had in common was the lack of state support and disapproval from society, due to the association of the art of singing with a certain category of people. Dr. Afzal-Khan also lamented her personal inability to pursue her love of singing and acting professionally, due to the societal stigma attached to it.
Roshanara Begum
The event began with a short documentary of singers, activists and family members, edited by filmmaker Nishtha Jain. It featured the likes of Tahira Syed, Salima Hashmi and Sara Zaman, a contemporary of Afzal-Khan, who also could not pursue singing in a professional capacity, though possessing great talent. Together, they trace the history of female singers in Pakistan through its tumultuous history, with beautifully poignant archival clips of singers over the years. It served as a beautiful compliment to, and a sneak preview of Dr. Afzal-Khan’s book and research.
Tahira Syed
“If you’ve been in that audience (when these singers were performing) and looked around, you’ll know that they had embodied people’s dreams and aspirations in a way that perhaps the male singer could never do in the same way,” remarked Salima Hashmi.
Iqbal Bano
This screening was followed by a brief talk by Dr. Afzal-Khan, explaining her journey collecting and compiling these stories of subversion and femininity. She explained, “After Partition, they (the female singers) had to earn their wages for their families…These women subverted (society’s expectations of them) because while they did suffer and society was not approving, the people loved music and they loved women who sang music!”
At the end of the talk a brief Q&A took place, in which the audience members discussed contemporary ramifications of her literary critique. It concluded with Dr. Afzal-Khan serenading the audience with Bulleh Shah poetry in Seriaki, moving the crowd and resulting in a standing ovation.
‘Siren Song’ is not just Dr. Afzal-Khan’s personal achievement in research, but an encapsulation of the rich and complex lives of female singers and their attempts to break the glass ceiling in a rigid and a patriarchal culture. The book is available for purchase, and Lahoris who are interested in discussing the book with Dr. Afzal-Khan, can attend her talk at The Last Word on 12th March.
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