In a new music video, Palestinians are defying traditional gender roles to encourage people to be confident in who they are.
The video, filmed in the West Bank, features female truck drivers, DJs, weightlifters, racing car drivers and boxers, as well as an effeminately dressed male model.
The accompanying song, which is by Palestinian singer Bashar Murad, is called “More Like You” and boldly rejects people “telling me what to do, because you want me to be more like you”.
“I wanted to talk about men who might do something that is usually considered feminine, or about women who might do something that is usually considered masculine,” the 23-year-old told AJ+.
“But in the end, these labels don’t really matter”
In an uplifting sequence from the video, Palestine’s first male ballet dancer, Ayman Safia, is shown breaking out of a box, ripping off his hyper-masculine suit and dancing.
“That box represents the gender roles that have been placed on him as a man […] Then he takes all the labels and all the things that people have forced upon him, and then he’s just himself,” Murad describes.
“I wanted to send the message that you should be who you are and proud of yourself no matter what.
The video, which was uploaded in November, has so far gained nearly 100,000 views on Youtube:
Viewers from around the world have praised Murad for his defiance, with one commenter writing ”Good job Palestine!!! I absolutely LOVE this video. It is so beautiful. Your people are beautiful.”
Another wrote: “This is absolutely beautiful; beautiful concept, beautiful music. Makes me proud to see this issues are being increasingly highlighted in the arab world. Bless your work.”
Others have celebrated the video on Twitter:
Excellent music video by Palestinian artist Bashar Murad @BasharMusic about living outside your box. https://t.co/wOPOykfkzn
— Sandy Nagy (@SandyMarieN) January 14, 2017
As for Murad, he hopes that the clip will show the international community a different side to his people.
“I sing in English because I feel it is important to share my message [...] with the rest of the world.”
“I feel like it’s important for the rest of the world to see things that are very interesting in our culture that are usually not portrayed by the media.”
RA
