Iqbal Bano (Urdu: اِقبال بانو; born 1928 in Delhi – died 21 April 2009 in Lahore)[2][3] was a Pakistani singer who specialized in ghazal.

In her earlier career Iqbal Bano collaborated with well known lyricists such as the poets Saifuddin Saif and Qateel Shifai and composers such as Master Inayat Hussain and Rasheed Attre.

[6] She had become a 'singing star' by the 1950s, singing soundtrack songs for famous Pakistani Urdu films like Payal Mein Geet Hai Cham Cham Ke (Film Gumnaam, 1954), Ulfat ki Nai Manzil ko Chala (Qatil, 1955), Chhor Hamen Kis Des Sudharay Sayyan Hamaray and Dono Dillon Peh Hua Ulfat Ka Asar (Inteqaam, 1955), Taaron Ka Bhi Tu Maalik (Sarfarosh, 1956), Pareshan Raat Sari Hai (Ishq-e-Laila, 1957), and Ambva ki Darrion pe Jhoolana Jhoolae Ja (Nagin, 1959).

[7] Her repertoire include ghazals of numerous poets including the great Mirza Ghalib (Muddat Hoi Hai Yaar Ko), Quli Qutub Shah (Piya Baaj Piyala, Piya Baaj Jaay Na), Baqi Siddiqui (Daagh e Dil Humko Yaad Anay Lagay),[7][8] Daagh Dehlvi (Tere Wade Ko - Daag), Nasir Kazmi (Kuchh To Ehsas-e-Ziyan Tha Pahle) and Ahmed Faraz (Ranjish Hi Sahi).

Music lovers noted some similarities between Iqbal Bano and Begum Akhtar,[5] especially some marked resemblances in their styles of singing.

[10][11] By 1986 Zia’s regime was in full swing with severe curtailment and abuses of basic human rights, so much so that various restriction were placed on what clothing could be worn by public figures, particularly women.

One such curtailment of basic human rights was the banning of the sari, a common attire for women of all religions in many countries in the sub-continent, as un-Islamic.

[15] At the event in 1985, Iqbal Bano resplendent in a black sari, a universal color of protest and a garment banned by Zia's regime, and went on to sing Faiz Ahmad Faiz's famous poem of resistance Hum Dekhenge (We shall see), [9][13] in an act of defiance against General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's diktat and rule.

This simple act of defiance led to a crackdown by the Zia regime, persecution of the organizers of the event and a ban on Iqbal Bano appearing on national stage as a singer.