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« Pyramids made out of concrete | Main | Times and Times again »
Friday, December 1, 2006
10:27AM

Qawliya

By AuthorIssandr El Amrani |
YouTube has this great video of the Saddam era's greatest qawliya dancers (gypsy girls spinning their long hair) entertaining top regime figures. Cheesy but fascinating.

DateDec 1, 2006 at 10:27 Comment3 Comments

Reader Comments (3)

Don't miss the liberation narrative in the story of the long-suffering qawliya star who goes from being abused by Saddam's sons (and shoulder-pads, puffed sleeves and 80s hair) to freedom and skimpy blouses in Sweden, where contemporary young lechers just film her with their little camera phones and digicams. Touching awi.

Dec 1, 2006 at 11:17 AM | Unregistered CommenterSP

I love those old school dresses with the big puffy shoulders, the girls look like football players!

Dec 1, 2006 at 7:32 PM | Unregistered CommenterD.B Shobrawy

So, the video's early scenes were actually filmed at events where the girls danced for Saddam's henchmen? I've taken several years of university Arabic but must admit I'm not good enough to understand this all on the first listen. Why is the video intercut with the swords/male dancing?

Dec 3, 2006 at 2:57 AM | Unregistered CommenterEvan

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