Casablanca - And the personality of the year is…—this is the prevalent subject matter of an abundance of articles that have recently been published on Moroccan media (both print and virtual). How about 2013’s most controversial personality (ies) in Morocco? Guess what: MWN has picked up three for you—all are “artists,” and all are women.
MWN’s top three most controversial women are, in a bottom-up order, singer Dounia Batma, actress Latifa Ahrar and social media sensation, Sina. All of these women have sparked a controversy in their own, idiosyncratic fashion; yet, what they have in common is that their polemics are all art-related in some way or another.
Dounia Batma’s controversy started the day she made public her consent to marry her Bahraini manager, who was already married to another woman—with whom he has a daughter. This stirred an air of disapprobation, which seemed to eclipse the wide acclaim her Moroccan audience had accorded her after her outstanding performance during Arab Idol’s first edition.
Many Moroccans deemed Dounia’s “unthinkable” consent to be the second wife of a rich Gulf man a reinforcement of the notorious, degrading stereotype that Moroccan women are “men robbers.”
A different camp saw Dounia’s controversial decision to be the second wife of a married man a blatant consolidation of patriarchal principles, through which men enjoy the right to marry as many women as they please, just for the sake of it.
Second in our top 3 personalities is Moroccan actress Latifa Ahrar, towards whom Moroccans now express ambivalent feelings, between admiration for her artistic work and repulsion of her controversial acts and statements. On top of her list of controversies is her recent “mimicking”—also described as mockery, by many Moroccans, of Quranic recitation on 2M TV’s weekly show “Mais Encore.”
The interview started by casting light on one of Ahrar’s previous controversies, back in 2011, when she showed up at the Marrakech’s 2012 International Film Festival with a majestic, traditional pink Caftan, showing her legs. Ironically, this interview on her past controversies gave birth to another polemic.
When asked by the host to share some of the verse she authored, the Moroccan actress started reciting what seemed to be some casually altered Quranic verses.
Ahrar’s controversial performance could not pass unnoticed as the video of the interview went viral on social media shortly after it had been uploaded on YouTube. The video sparked a stir on social media with many Moroccans leveling harsh criticism against the actress.
The trophy of the most controversial woman of the year goes to the Moroccan internet sensation known as Sina. Her first video on YouTube, a “clip” she had shot for her song—the lyrics of which have sparked a controversy on their own—was described as being blatantly “provocative” and “indecent.”
“Lack of the slightest talent,” “pretentiousness,” “arrogance” and “complete delusion and artistic hallucination” are recurrent descriptions brought up whenever Sina is the subject matter of either a random conversation or a serious debate.
Sina is easily the most controversial of the Moroccan trinity—Sina, Douia Batma and Latifa Ahrar—for the mere reason that she is ready to hold on to and stand up for her delusion and “pseudo-art” against all odds, even if she’d have to stand against all Moroccans who see in her singing an utter disgrace.
While Dounia Batma and Latifa Ahrar were both national and/or regional celebs, ironically Sina’s controversy is what granted her “the spotlight of fame.” Her first controversial video on YouTube has now exceeded two million views. Yet unsurprisingly, her video drew more than 11,000 dislikes compared to 1200 likes, thus elucidating the predominant picture Moroccans have of her.
Sina ostensibly is not quitting anytime soon, despite the public outrage she sparked.
“I have a very shocking video in store for all those who criticize me,” says a determined Sina in her interview with Medi Radio, “and it’s nothing like anything else I’ve done so far.”
“I will show more femininity in it,” she added.
The top three controversial women listed in this article have been chosen and classified based upon the public’s reactions to some of their statements and acts deemed controversial, and is by no means an attempt at belittling nor disgracing” them, or diverting attention from their “artistic” works. The article, clearly, though perhaps implicitly, casts light on the power of social media in sparking and amplifying their controversies.
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