With an Arab woman director, we created an unexpected music video, featuring Arab women (doing things one typically sees Western do in a music video – dancing), disrupting the global narrative of Arab feminism - and importantly, that of hyper-secularised (white) feminism, which increasingly positions itself as incompatible with Islam and the Arab world.

Instead, the music video celebrates the various modalities of Middle-Eastern feminism.

The music video treats oppression and stereotyping from the West, not as a source of victimhood, but as the fertile ground from where resistance can be forged, through music.

The music video is an ode to the strength of Arab women and their fight for feminist action.

“Contains anger, sorrow, accusation, and resignation, without losing control or force: the calm simultaneous with the storm.” (Jessica Doyle, Western Listener).

The video self-consciously toys with the intersection of gender with race by celebrating and championing a coalition of Arab and Muslim women, styled to over-articulate their ethnic background, in a manner more typically employed by Western media to victimise them.

The video purposefully attempts to revert the position of the (male) musicians as the heroes of the narrative, not only by subjecting them to the (female) gaze of the director, but also by representing them as individuals who (literally) take the backseat as the coalition moves forward.

So, while the lyrics of the verses discuss betrayal, struggle, and conflict, the video revolves around the lyrical pivot in the chorus: ‘aleihum (charge!).

“Life-affirming and joyous rather than the timid, “oppressed” vision the West is used to from media reports.” (Alex Clifton, The Singles Jukebox)

The song has also featured in the band’s concerts regionally and worldwide, taking the message even further.

The video influenced news headlines as it featured on leading news and media platforms such as NBC News, CNN Politics, The New York Times, NewNowNext, Voice of America, The Stable, among 100s more.

Adweek: “An agency helped create this incredible music video celebrating feminism in the modern Arab world.”

Travelled across 50% of countries on our planet, in multiple languages such as Turkish, Slovak, Portugese, Greek, French, Dutch and Spanish, among others.

Featured on international pop culture platforms such as Nowness as the Nowness Picks alongwith Madonna’s Ray of Light.

$3.7 earned media value.

580 million impressions.

Ranked as the most popular Arabic song worldwide on music platforms such as iTunes, Anghami, Soundcloud.

Became the most trending content on feminism (Trendolizer).

Features in the band’s concerts regionally and worldwide, taking the message even further.

Album sales: +24% vs. previous albums.

iTunes downloads: +36% vs. any other soundtrack.