Pakistani-Norwegian stand-up comic Shabana Rehman is a burqa provocateur (thanks, Srinath):
Rehman… was born in Karachi but raised in Norway… [Link]She typically begins her act wearing a burqa, which she then strips away to reveal a tight, red cocktail dress… She notably made headlines in the popular press last week by dropping her pants and baring her buttocks at a film festival in Haugesund, in southwest Norway. “I want to show that in Norway, you can do such things without being lynched or arrested… You can’t do a stunt like this in Karachi or Kabul.” [Link]
She’s pulled both a Madonna and a Demi Moore:
Rehman then went on to kiss vigorously Norway’s female Culture Minister… seeking to make a point about a debate raging in the country’s Pakistani community over a film scene showing a young Pakistani girl kissing a Norwegian boy… [Link]‘In Norway there are approximately 70,000 Muslims out of a total population of 4 million [1.75% of the population]… My answer to their reactions was to paint my body with the Norwegian flag and pose in the nude.’ [Link]
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The 5’4″ woman pulled an old Jewish and Punjabi wedding trick upon a fundie with suspected Al Qaeda links who took asylum in Norway. If only he were Jewish, he’d have known what was coming 
Rehman came on stage and said she wanted to carry out a “satiric test” to find out if Mullah Krekar was as strongly fundamentalist as some of his critics believe. When he approached her, she grabbed him and lifted him up in the air.
Krekar… became furious, grabbed the microphone and began speaking in Norwegian for the first time that evening. “… she has no right to carry or touch me… ” Krekar said, and promised to lodge a complaint via his lawyer. Rehman… told newspaper VG she also wanted to show that if she could lift him, he could hardly be a danger to national security. [Link]
Punk’d! A Scandinavian hippie complained:
The woman gathered in the audience laughed at the stunt but panel member Lar Gule, secretary general of Norway’s Humanist Ethic League protested. “The audience does not understand what an insult Krekar has been exposed to…” Gule said. [Link]
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p>What she gets for her apostasy: the usual.
Unidentified assailants on Wednesday fired shots at an Oslo restaurant owned by the family of a Pakistani-born female comediene… The shots, fired at around 4:00 am, struck the windows of the restaurant of Fahrina Rehman, the sister of Shabana Rehman. [Link]
But seriously, ign’ant jokes make me cringe:
So I told jokes about what Norwegian guys ask me when I date them, like: “Hi, if I get hot on you, would your family burn you up then? And I answer, “Shut up, just screw me, I`ve got a fire extinguisher in my kitchen!” [Link]
Would it be too much to call it Punjabi or Urdu?
… once I told the audience that I am gonna tell them a really dirty joke, and then I do so: in Pakistani! Norwegians always love that one. [Link]
Publicity-monger though she may be, I salute this reckless temptress.
See also: Shazia Mirza, Deeyah, Azhar Usman
Update: Don’t stare too long at the Karachi full moon (NSFW, and thanks, Scandinavian hippie!)
Update 2: Rehman in Time (thanks, Theresa).
She reflects on the Norwegian climate, joking that her family “ran around in the snow with sandals on.” She pillories cross-cultural dating, dispensing sardonic tips on “how to pick up a Pakistani chick,” and addresses her girlhood fear that the light mustache that appeared on her upper lip would scare off potential suitors. She was reassured by the fact that her mom had found a husband despite similar wisps of down, “but that was before I knew that Dad had been forced to marry her…” She also satirizes the Norwegians themselves, with their “booze-and-pork” culture and “progressive” family structures in which a single child can have multiple sets of parents…… the Oslo daily Dagbladet listed Rehman and her Norwegian husband, author Dagfinn Norbø, among the country’s most influential opinion shapers… “I’m not out to stimulate dialogue but to satirize people’s attitudes,” she says. “That’s why I make fun of religion, nationalism and Norwegian smugness.” [Link]
My kind of girl.
Didn’t someone take a shot at her last week?
Didn’t someone read the post? 😉
Here it is:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_25-8-2005_pg7_39
Shots fired at Pakistani-born comicÂ’s Oslo restaurant
“OSLO: Unidentified assailants on Wednesday fired shots at an Oslo restaurant owned by the family of a Pakistani-born female comediene who has achieved prominence for lampooning conservative Islam.
Shabana Rehman, the 28-year-old comediene whose sister owns the restaurant, described the incident as “an appalling act of terror” and said it would not deter her from continuing her work.
The shots, fired at around 4:00 am, struck the windows of the restaurant of Fahrina Rehman, the sister of Shabana Rehman. A police spokesman said the establishment was closed, and nobody was hurt.
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appropriately chastened…
slinking off now….
I was going to mention Deeyah too. A lot of Asian-influenced music is coming out of Norway, relative to the size of the community there. Anyhow, it also seems like there are some serious conflicts amongst their Muslim citizens. A friend of mine interviewed Deeyah about the trouble she’s been having.
Pretty surprising. But also surprising that despite some vocal opposition, these two Norwegian girls are more in-your-face with their sexuality than any famous South Asian girls from the ‘main’ diaspora triad of the UK, US and Canada. Norway’s cool! (literally)
This Shabana sounds like an interesting lass.
Bongo
You are right – I cannot imagine a Pakistani ladki from England doing what Shabana does – she looks like a healthy Punjaban in red too
It’s one of the most irreligious countries in the world.
Actually, these Scandanavian desis are all a bit bonkers – remember that band from Denmark called Bombay Rockers with the mad video about them playing these blondes and then they get battered by a Kung Fu teddy bear assasination hit squad?
Do they have a language in Pakistan (or Norway?) that I am not aware of? Or does she mean Urdu?
Folks, does anyone actually read our posts here, or do y’all just look at the titles? As the post says:
Slinking off with Olinda…
go girl!
Manish, ye of little faith. Of course we don’t just read the titles.
We look at the pictures too.
I wonder where India figured in the atheism stakes. I know people say it’s one of the most religious. But surely not number one. I can think of more religious countries. Like…The Vatican. I’m also surprised Vietnam is so high. And Israel! Haha, that’s a laugh.
That Bombay Rockers track Rock Tha Party, to which you refer PB, was pretty funky so I investigated further. They’re lame. That video was even lamer. Bobby & Knee-High have played a fair amount from the nordic regions, including some pukka bhangra (actually, that may have been Polish. Still, pretty mad).
bong, if you read my comments in detail you would have the answers to many of your questions i suspect. but in any case,
India vs. USA (USA for comparison’s sake)
I have always believed in God 92% – 79%
I believe in God, but have not always done so 4% – 7%
I used to believe in God but no longer do so * – 1%
I have never believed in God 1% – 1%
I do not believe in God but I do believe in a higher power 5% – 2%
I do not believe in God but I am a spiritual person 3% – *
None of these 1% – *
Don’t know 2% – *
source (PDF).
Sorry razib, I didn’t realise this was an exam. I’ll be sure to pay more attention in future. Still, I only asked one question. Where does India figure in the rankings? If you mentioned that in your comments over the course of the last few weeks, I apologise profusely.
huh, you know i was joking, right?
LoL
Yo Bongo are you being serious? Scandinavian bhangra?
Here’s my post on the ‘Rock The Party’ video.
Before the kiss she said:
“I have a giant rage. I am really angry (…) We live in a time of cultural conflicts that are not just about forced marriages, but about suicide bombers, knife murders of film directors, gang rapes of sexually independent girls. It is about murder threats, threats of violence, threats of expulsion, divorces and child abductions”
After kissing the minister and before showing her butt:
“I don’t think it is true that a kiss between Norwegians and Pakistanis is controversial anymore. Valgerd clearly showed us that. But if I may show you something that is controversial among Pakistanis today, watch this“
“And then she turns her back on the audience, drops her pants and bends forward. It is over in four seconds. The audience does not believe what they see.”
Khalid Hussain (the director) said:
“I’m not angry, but I think she took it too far”
Iram Haq (female lead) said:
“I didn’t understand what it had to do with the movie, but she looked good in Pakistani clothes”
Link to Norwegian newspaper possibly NSFW.
I can’t believe people replied to that saying they liked the video! I make music videos. Well OK I’ve made music videos, subtle difference. But I hope to again, so it’s an area of keen interest for me. It’s also an occasion when I say “Me? Indian? No no, it’s just a tan!” as I’m so deeply ashamed of South Asian music videos, yank, canuck, pommie or actual South Asian. Disaster zones.
And I didn’t know Bombay Vikings were Scandinavian too (clearly if you’re from those parts the only Indian city people have heard of is Bombay). Woh chali woh chali…
You’re so lucky you can’t hear me sing. For my obsession with music, I never learnt how to sing. I was told today that I have “ruined listening to Marvin Gaye forever” by singing Sexual Healing on Friday night.
Scandinavian Hippie
That is hilarious! I cant stop laughing! Thanks for posting that its so funny!
Definitely not suitable for work guys but its funny as hell!
This is the most hilarious bit after all that:
But you know, I suppose she was making a point of some sort, pushing the boundaries and all that.
I suppose she was making a point of some sort, pushing the boundaries and all that.
helps with triangulation. ie; pakistani norwegian girl is dating uncircumcised norwegian guy, and her mom is fuming, and she’s like, “hey, i’m not flashing my ass in public!” makes her look real good all of a sudden.
“…these two Norwegian girls are more in-your-face with their sexuality than any famous South Asian girls from the ‘main’ diaspora triad of the UK, US and Canada”
Speaking for TO, there is hope yet, DJ Zahra has got the sexuality bit down pat. She’s an immigration lawyer by day DJ by night, Queen bee of the Pride Parade (for me at least, her stage is by far the biggest and baddest). Her site.
Oi! ABBA’s from Sweden!
-Agnethalover
Was it just me, or did anyone else find that to be a rather unappetising bum?
I concur.
Thus, Scandinavian.
It’s the only decent song on the album, sadly. No, wait– Ari Ari Ari, parts 1 and 2 are decent. Basically the white guy is the reason Bombay Rockers suck.
Ok I’ll just say it: Manish, the pic you chose for this post really makes Shabana Rehman look like a tranny.
yah, yah…as shame-faced fan of scanda-pop it just hurts me to see ABBA there when a-ha cries for recognition 😉
shuffles off to listen to Barbie Girl in honor of the Danes, and The Sugarcubes from Iceland, and…my music cred is shot now isn’t it?
“Rehman’s most controversial stunt came during a television appearance in April with Mullah Krekar, founder of the Kurdish militant group Ansar al-Islam, which has been accused of links with al-Qaeda. Rehman asked if Krekar would submit to a ‘fundamentalist test.’ When he agreed, she lifted him off the ground. Krekar was outraged, grabbed a microphone and sputtered: ‘She is showing contempt for me.’ Rehman merely observed that ‘a man who can be carried by a woman can’t be a fundamentalist.’ Krekar filed a complaint with police, but no charges were brought against Rehman.”
http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/printout/0,13155,901040830-685999,00.html
:p
cicatrix, add sweden’s “the concretes” to that playlist and i promise it will lessen the shame. 😉
Not to mention Iceland’s Emiliana Torrini, praised to the hilt by Frere-Jones in last week’s New Yorker (Manish’s linked defintion of Scandinavia did include Iceland…as an afterthought, but it was there 🙂
Punjabi Boy in post #7 is right, a British Pakistani girl pulling any of these stunts would risk getting lynched over here by some of her “brothers”. There are plenty of progressive and liberal Pakistanis amongst the younger generation too, of course, but at the same time there are also a huge number who would condone some kind of “direct action” to “teach her a lesson” and “put her in her place” — at least with regards to the extremes she’s going to in some of her public behaviour.
With regards to Deeyah, I remember her being interviewed about all this on the main evening news show in London a little while ago, and there were a number of articles about her experiences in some of the national newspapers here too. She seemed to be very shocked and (visibly) upset at the threats and intimidation she was receiving from complete strangers. Poor girl. I think in that sense she’d be better off somewhere in the US.
She clearly has courage, and I completely respect her right to freedom of speech, expression, etc., but her behavior also seems kind of sensationalistic. More like that of a provocateur than a reasoned voice. I have more admiration for someone like Irshad Manji, who’s managed to draw the anger of the Islamists simply by being who she is and speaking her mind openly and honestly than by trying to deliberately piss people off.
True Eric, but there is something totally jarring about a woman running up to a guy like that and lifting him off the ground. It totally dispels that aura of mystery and danger that people percieve in them, i mean, some girl ran up and picked him up and all he could do was sputter about rights, haha.
This pic is scary.
Add Bjork, the Cardigans, Anneli Drecker, Sigur Ros, Ace of Base, Bel Canto, Stakka Bo, Kari Rueslatten, and of course Bombay Vikings to the Scandi-pop list 🙂 Why do such cold places produce such great music? (cf. A-Ha)
Maybe because Norwegian is such an, uh, expressive language.
Tungekyss og rumpeshow This headline made my DAY.
While I do appreciate muslim women in Europe breaking free and doin’ their thin’, it is exactly these kinds of antics that strengthen the fundamentalists and further hurt those muslims who are trying to come into the mainstream.
When Western muslim women break free, they end up doing only one two things:
1] Criticise Islamic pratices 2] Show their skin
This causes the mullah who preaches to the common wanna-be secular muslims to say: “See? This is what happens when you give freedom to your daughters. This is what happens when you give them a secular education, when you let them wear jeans and watch western TV and let them show their hair. This is what happens when you give them choice in life.”
Upon listening to this, most muslim parents get the shivers and end up restricting their daughters even more than they wanted to in the first place.
Where are European muslim women who become scientists, news readers, programmers, financial analysts etc etc? Those are the women who will serve as role models for future muslim women by giving the common muslim parent a reassurance that they could be secular, liberal without being immoral and unislamic.
Provocative women like Shabana Rehman will serve little more than to provide juicy news bites to the media – they will do nothing to lift the common muslim woman our of her misery. That can be only done by muslim women who take up “boring” professions and excel in them.
M. Nam
I think there’s a place for all, brash and bashful, scantily-clad and modestly-attired. You want female Muslim newsreaders MoorNam? Come to the UK!
The best news programme on TV – Channel 4 News – is headed by Jon Snow and his right hand people are Krishnan Guru-Murthy (part Tamil, part Bong, cool dude) and Shamira Ahmed, who was also given her own 3 part series on women in Islam last year.
The BBC News seems to love finding pretty Asian girls – never in short supply, Hindu and Muslim.
And the second largest channel in the UK, ITV, has its news anchored by Nina Hossain and its London news programme hosted by Nazneen Bashiri. There are loads more, business reporters, science correspondents etc.
Come to the UK, join the enlightened ones!
bong-breaker: >>Come to the UK
Love your museums, but the rain, oh the darn, cold rain that never ends!!
Good. That takes care of muslim news-readers. Now, how about them muslim-woman hedge-fund managers, dot-com enterpreneurs, golf-players etc etc.
M. Nam
Love your museums
A lot of the displays in their museums have been stolen from India, Greece and countless other countries.
Speaking of stolen goods, I wonder what became of India’s claim to the Kohinoor? Any news anyone?
“Come to the UK, join the enlightened ones!”
No, I’m scared of your police now.
Touché.
The Kohinoor was a gift! To ask for it now would make us hmmm…Indian-givers.
I would rather have the Baburnama and certain Mughal miniatures back. And I think the Greeks should get back the Elgin marbles.
I think most of you are being rather too flippant about this — this woman could easily get murdered by Muslims for doing what she’s doing. She needs round-the-clock bodyguards. She would be a fool to think that Norway is far enough away from those who would murder her.