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“Kurdish Shakira” shakes customs
26.8.2009
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August
26, 2009
ERBIL-Hewlęr,
Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — With her pop
rhythms, her provocative and swaying hips plunging
necklines, Dashni Murad, nicknamed "Kurdish Shakira”
is the new musical phenomenon that upsets
conservative morals in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Long hair and hourglass figure, the girl of 23, who
has an album under her belt, began to enjoy great
popularity among young people of Kurdistan, an
autonomous region in northern Iraq.
"I admire Shakira, I consider a model. I listen to
her songs since I was a child," said Dashnir, who
speaks fluent English and Dutch having grown up in
the Netherlands.
Her admiration for the Colombian singer, who has
Lebanese origins, is evident in his music videos and
languorous choreography.
In the clip of her new songs "Hela Hupa," she dances
hair blowing in a split skirt with sequins, rolls in
the hay and performs hip movements that resemble
Shakira.
"I am inspired from her artistically but I try to
create my own movements," she says.
These are dances that create controversy in
Kurdistan, a very conservative and tribal region,
where "crimes of honour" are still widespread.
If young Kurds love this new artist, others are
shocked by this exhibition of provocative hips
movements, considering them as an affront to their
culture and Islam. |
Dashni Murad, a Kurdish artist from Sulaimaniyah,
Iraqi Kurdistan. |
"It's a strange manner
of behaviour. It is not suitable for our community,"
said Rasul Faqiin a staff of 34. "Maybe it's because
she grew up in the West. For Europeans, it’s OK, but
not for us. She’s going to destroy the foundation of
our community. We do not want our young people grow
up like that," he adds.
Even feminist associations have taken a stand
against the artist, saying she undermined the image
of women.
"We are opposed to these dances and the use of the
female body to attract attention. It is against our
policy of defending the rights of women and their
emancipation," argues Susan Aref, head of the
Organization for the emancipation of women in
Kurdistan.
"We do not want to empower women to liberate their
bodies," she says.
Dashni rejects these criticisms and argues instead
that she wants to make of her musical an instrument
to the modernization of Kurdish culture. "I chose to
do this because I think people,www.ekurd.net
especially youth, need a
new artistic style to break the chains of the past,"
she said.
Murad Dashni is not unknown on the Kurdish stage.
Between 2005 and 2007, she had made a name by
presenting the program "Out of control" in which she
questioned the Kurds living in Europe on their
lifestyle.
She now presents another program "The Dashni Show,"
a kind of talk show where she spoke openly about
issues of concern for women, including romantic
relationships, a subject that remains taboo in
Kurdish society.
"What is Dashni doing requires a lot of courage. No
Kurdish artist had done this before. It is a
revolution for the Kurdish song" ensures Hawzin Hama,
a journalist for 36. "Previously, no woman dared to
speak of her love for a boy or simply love. But
Dashni speaks with courage," she says.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
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