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. Over 2 million people watched the performance online after several copies of the video were uploaded onto YouTube. So far, so show business — but the intensity of debate that followed online seemed to indicate how polarised the debate on female dress in the Arab World has become.
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. But even in such traditional societies, women will often follow celebrity styles when alone in women-only gatherings.
Wehbe has caused a stir before with her outfits. “It is true that we got used to her wearing scandalous clothes but not to this extent…it was a shock for the viewers,” an Egyptian woman on Twitter commented. But 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”.
