The Burka Band (or the Blue Burqa Band) is an Afghan all-female indie rock band formed in Kabul in 2002.[1] They perform anonymously, all of the members wearing burqas in an apparent protest against the Taliban's rules regarding Islamic dress. They released a single, "Burka Blue" and a self-titled album in 2003. The song came about during a workshop at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, sponsored by the Goethe-Institut in October 2002.[2] Blue-colored burqas, also called "shuttlecock", are native to Afghanistan and a symbol of Afghan culture.[3]
The group gained some popularity in Europe[citation needed] in the 2000s, and toured in Germany,[4] where one of their songs was remixed by the DJ Barbara Morgenstern.[5] A YouTube video of a performance of theirs has circulated widely.[citation needed] Singing in burqas was a joke, but also necessary to avoid retaliation by religious fanatics, according to Nargiz, a member of the band.[6] Proposed additional information:
Their song Burka Blue has been popular not just now but for a while, as over 2012 an upload of it on youtube which no longer exists had 400.000 views. [citation needed]
The song was produced by a German producer and later remixed by a German DJ which led to it being briefly popular enough they were able to tour. The only available name of the producer name was Dahlke and the record label, sources state it was Ata Tak however the first CD release was released under Monika Enterprise. They were founded in 2002 and released this in 2003, 6 years before the current popular Youtube video was uploaded. [citation needed]
The lead singer of the band identifies herself as "Nargiz" although this is likely a pseudonym. She was unable to join the tour as she was working. She is also the only one who does interviews.[citation needed]
At some point before or during 2007 she moved to Pakistan to pursue music. The other 2 were working as of time of the interviews. Their identities were never revealed.[citation needed]
According to an articicle published in 2012, at some point they had a myspace. Though any trace of this is now gone with the loss of the website and lack of url to wayback.[citation needed]
In 2021 they released a new song called I Care For You. This is the third song to have ever been released by them, after nearly a 20 year haitus. This was released during covid times and references lockdown and mask wearing multiple times in the song. It is unclear online if all the members of the band in the new release are the same.[citation needed]
This song, along with the second song they made were not published under the same label. No Burka! was published on a second CD released by Ata Tak on a CD along with Burka Blue and multiple remixes. Burka Blue was originally individually by Monika Enterprise. The new song I Care For You was published by the record label Fun In The Church.[citation needed]
A documentary was planned in 2021 called Burka Band & The Wolves Of Wantonness however it is unclear if this will ever be released. The new song was included in a compilation album in 2023 called Hope For Her Future. [citation needed]
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