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Skimpily dressed singer creates stir in Arab world

A dress worn by a famous Lebanese pop star on TV has caused an outcry on Arab social media - mainly among women

Last week, Lebanese singer Haifa Wehbe performed a song during a live episode of Arab Star Academy, a pan-Arab TV music talent contest, wearing a figure-hugging long black dress with revealing sheer panels.

More than two million people watched the performance online after several copies of the video were uploaded onto YouTube.

Many of the reactions on social media, mostly from women in Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, were strongly critical of the star's choice of dress. "Scandalous" was a much used term. One YouTube user commented: "Art has limits and you, Haifa, have crossed the line".

Views about what women can and can't wear vary hugely across the Arab world. While in Lebanon miniskirts and bikinis are not uncommon, in other more conservative societies such as Saudi Arabia women cover their faces and bodies fully in black.

Not everyone thought the dress was in poor taste. A female YouTube user wrote "you should be used to the way she dresses by now and after all everyone is free to dress as they wish". And another defended her saying "She's not the first or the last to wear a revealing dress, and she looked beautiful in it".

Dana Khairallah, a Lebanese lifestyle blogger, says that people kicked up a fuss about this outfit because of an ongoing struggle within Arab culture. "They think if women dress this way it would misrepresent our culture," she says. "I find that hypocritical. I see Arab girls dressing more provocatively in clubs but no one cares because there are no cameras."

SOURCE: BBC

 



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