Abida Parveen

Parveen is the only woman allowed to sing at the shrines of the Sufi saints.
How was this woman able to change the mind of a man who for many years had refused to give musical instruction to his own daughter, who would grow up to become the popular Pakistani vocalist Riffat Sultana?
Her style of singing is clearly different from any other prominent singer in this tradition, and not just because all of the others are male. Abida sings solo with a small ensemble of musicians, who follow the ebb and flow of her dynamic cues with remarkable skill and awareness. In quieter passages, she will often sing alap-like tempo variations in the middle of a piece as the harmonium and percussion pulsate quietly, then surge upward again with a driving beat.