Pragaash, an all-girl rock band made up of high school students in Indian-run Kashmir, has disbanded after their performance was declared “un-Islamic.” The girls—base guitarist Aneeqa Khalid, singer Noma Nazir and drummer Farah Deeba—had played in a battle-of-the-bands competition, winning fans but triggering threats and condemnation by a Muslim leader. “When girls and young women stray from the rightful path…this kind of non-serious activity can become the first step toward our destruction,” Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad said in a statement.
Pragaash, an all-girl rock band made up of high school students in Indian-run Kashmir, has disbanded after their performance was declared “un-Islamic.” The girls—base guitarist Aneeqa Khalid, singer Noma Nazir and drummer Farah Deeba—had played in a battle-of-the-bands competition, winning fans but triggering threats and condemnation by a Muslim leader. “When girls and young women stray from the rightful path…this kind of non-serious activity can become the first step toward our destruction,” Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad said in a statement.
“We respect their opinion and we have quit,” an unnamed member of Pragaash told BBC Hindi. “But I don’t know why we are being stopped.” Meantime, the government will hunt down and arrest those who posted threats on the band’s Facebook page, pledged Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.