Bashar Murad, a Palestinian artist living in East Jerusalem, just released a new song and video titled “IlKul 3am Bitjwaz” (Everyone Is Getting Married). This is his first Arab Pop song release. The song and video are a satire that deal with the pressure that society puts on people to get married. It plays with the idea that you shouldn’t get to the age of 30 without having found someone to share your life with. The goal of the video is to lighten the subject for those who feel this pressure, and to help show that marriage shouldn’t be the main purpose of a person’s life.
This is a production by Sabreen Association for Artistic Development, Lyrics by Bashar Murad, Filmed by Rafic Saadeh, and Musical Production by Abed Hathot, Bashar Murad, and Omar El-Deeb. This is the first of a series of songs that Bashar will be releasing over the course of the year.
“For the past year I’ve been working on Arabic Pop songs that aim to expose and challenge different aspects of society. The first theme that I have chosen to delve into is marriage. The inspiration for the song came about when I noticed that many people who are in their twenties/ late twenties have developed the idea that if you reach the age of 30 without finding a partner then it means that there is something wrong with you. The lyrics say, “It’s not that I don’t want to [get married], it’s just that my house, my bed, and my head fit only me.” Basically I’m saying that I have no space literally and figuratively in my life to accommodate another person, I barely have space for me. This is why I decided to marry myself in the video. This way I will focus on myself, my art, and my future instead of putting my energy into finding the perfect partner”.
Bashar’s work always has some aspect that challenges gender norms. “I wanted to shatter the image of the Arab man, who is always supposed to be masculine and should never try to cross the lines that society has drawn. So me appearing in the wedding dress was done not only for comical reasons, but also to express my liberation from any restriction from anyone.”
