Music Without Borders hosts concert in Vancouver to celebrate Arab women

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The Toronto-based non-profit Music Without Borders Canada will host a special concert, called “Hanim | هانم,” that celebrates iconic Arab women in music on Sept. 20 at North Vancouver’s Centennial Theatre. 

The word hanim is often used to address a woman in Turkish, and originated from the period of the Ottoman Empire’s imperial control over the Middle East.

“Arabic music is very much shaped by its women singers, and they’ve contributed so much to this music and their legacy continues [to] today,” Music Without Borders Canada Executive Director Jana Daher says. 

Music Without Borders Canada aims to promote peace, understanding, and cooperation through music. The organization has held events across Canada — from Montreal and Calgary, to Ottawa to Ontario. While it has organized events in Vancouver before, Daher says they decided to host the concert specifically in North Vancouver this time to explore a new place. 

“Our tours are very regular, like three times a year, and every time, … we explore a new city, a new place,” Daher says. 

Musical director Gaby Al Botros selects musicians for the non-profit’s concerts depending on the type of concert and the city they are going to. While some musicians for the concert will be travelling from Toronto, the organization is also hiring local musicians from Vancouver. 

“If we are presenting an Arabic concert, we make sure that at least some of the main musicians in that concert … [are] familiar with the music,” Daher says. “We usually have people from different parts of the world and from different backgrounds.” 

Daher says she hopes people from non-Arabic backgrounds attend the concert to learn more about Arab music and how women have contributed to it. 

“We’re speaking about an era in which Arab women have contributed a lot to music, and I’d like people to break the stereotypes and see how creative they are,” Daher says. 

The event will also feature vocals from Toronto-based singer Ranya Jamal, who has been a member of Music Without Borders since it started last year. 

The women whose music will be celebrated at the concert include Umm Kulthum, Asmahan, Fairouz, Sabah, Shadia, Warda, Mayada El Hennawy, and others. 

“My goal is to sing a song for each one of them to show and educate the audience and youth, [who] maybe don’t listen to classical music, to represent them in the best way I can by singing their songs,” Jamal says. 

She hopes the audience realizes the value of each song and “the power of women’s voices and what women are capable of doing.”

Jamal says it is important for her to show that Middle Eastern women can perform and sing as well. 

“Some families wouldn’t let their daughters or wives stay and perform because they’re women.” 

She hopes the Arabic community embraces and encourages women’s talent through her performance. 

“Singing is the way for me to express my feelings and communicate with people. It’s the best way for me to actually have them feel what I’m feeling,” Jamal says. 

The concert will take place from 8:00 to 9:30 pm. For more information about “Hanim,” head to shorturl.at/SawV0.