Sunday, October 18, 2009

Ra'asa: TAHIA CARIOCA

Classic Egyptian dance! The clip is from the film "al-sat nawa'am" (Madam Nawa'am).

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Khaled Mahmoud gets Dandash on stage at AWS (Ahlan W Sahlan Oriental Dance Festival) in Cairo.

Friday, September 25, 2009



Hakim is an Egpytian singer famous for his sha'bi style music. Kalam be Kalam is currently one of my favourite songs.

From Wikipedia:
Sha'abi is the name of a style of living, a style of dance, and a style of music. The word is Egyptian Arabic شعبي and refers to the poorer, commoner sections of the city. An English equivalent might be "ghetto." The name came to characterize the style of music enjoyed in such neighborhoods. The style is somewhat rougher and more playful than the rest of Egyptian pop music. Naturally, the style of dance acquired the name "sha'abi". The dance is more assertively sexual than is ordinary Egyptian dance.


 

Thursday, September 24, 2009



From AlJazeera:

What should be a leisurely stroll through Cairo's streets, for some women has become more like a gauntlet run.
Last year Egypt's Centre for Women's Rights conducted a survey which revealed that 93 per cent of Egyptian women have endured harassment of some sort at least once.
Campaigners say the male-dominated society leaves women feeling vulnerable and unprotected by traditional forces like the police.
Al Jazeera's Amr el-Khaky met one group in Cairo, Egypt's capital, who are taking the fight into their own hands: they are taking lessons in karate.
Mona Eltahawy, an Egyptian writer and activist, told Al Jazeera that almost every woman she knows has been sexually harassed or groped.
"It is no exaggeration to say this is an epidemic," she said.
"This is much more than sexual frustration.
"This is about power, about humiliation, about the way women have been portrayed, not just in the media but also through religious sermons.
" The respect that Islam gives to women ... is missing from a lot of religious discourse in Egypt.
"There are no laws in the Egyptian statute to prevent this from happening. This is what women's activists are fighting for."

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