Veiled rapper the new face of Egyptian feminism

Since she first performed on television in October, Mayam Mahmoud's new fans have been posting up to 50 supportive messages a day on Facebook. But there have also been a few unwelcome messages.

"Some say I'm creating a bad name for Islam, or even that I'm an infidel," she says.

A hijab-wearing rapper, Mahmoud has challenged some Egyptians' expectations of how women, and hijab wearers in particular, are meant to behave.

Mahmoud, 18, is not Egypt's first veiled rapper, or even its most experienced. But through her appearances on , which has become a hit across the Middle East, she is one of the few to attract something approaching mainstream attention.

"It's got a lot of people talking about whether it's possible for a veiled girl, or even a girl, to do this," says Mahmoud, who says her veil is a personal choice and has little relevance to her music. "If a girl has a dream to work in a field where many girls don't work, or to do post-graduate study, or to work in a position higher than her husband, all these things often can't be done." Rapping is a case in point, she says. It is by no means a conventional path for Egyptian men, but for women it is twice the battle.

"The girls in this field are thought to have bad morals," Mahmoud says. "It's known that when a girl tries to record a track, she will just be one girl in the studio with a lot of guys. So it's hard to find someone to work with her, to master the track."