Rukhshana

Rukhshana (Persian: رخشانه‎‎) is an Afghan singer. In the 1960s and 1970s, she, along with Zheela, were recognized as top two female singers of the country. She currently resides in Los Angeles and has not participated in any musical acts since her immigration to the United States.

Rukhshana (birth name Hamida, Persian: ‎‎ حمیده) was born in Khost, Afghanistan, the daughter of Aseel Khan Waziri, a high ranking army officer. Their family were originally from the southern parts of Afghanistan who later migrated to Kabul. She is credited to be first Afghan woman to remove the chador to pursue her career. And she is marked as only second to Mermon Parveen in being one of the first few female singers to enter the Afghan music scene professionally.

At the height of her popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, Rukhshana’s posters were widely distributed in Kabul, and her photos also graced covers of calendars and magazines. She had a wider fan base over other singers as she was bilingual and could reach a larger segment of Afghan society. Her music includes songs both in Pashto, her native tongue, and Persian. Since her emigration from Afghanistan nearly four decades ago, Rukhshana has not sung. She doesn’t give any interviews and has turned down requests for filming and photography. In a phone interview that was arranged after a lengthy solicitation period, she indicated she took a vow of silence the time she and her family were leaving Afghanistan. Despite numerous offers over the decades, Rukhshana has not performed.