Global Hit – Deeya
For our global hit today, we meet a singer who hails from Norway. She grew up in a Muslim immigrant community there.
Deeyah — as she’s known — made a name for herself at an early age. But success also made her the target of harassment and threats. And now she’s speaking out.
The World’s Andrea Smardon has her story.
Deeyah didn’t start her musical career intending to a make a statement. But when she put out this single with rapper Young MayLay, she knew it would cause a stir.
The song is called, “What Will it Be?” and the video shows a series of people ripping tape off of their mouths. It also shows a lot of Deeyah’s midriff. At the end of the video, Deeyah throws off a full black burqua, to reveal her bikini clad body.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.