Umm Kulthum
Umm Kulthum is seen as a national icon of Egypt and defined the Arabic music all over North Africa and the Middle East in the 20th century. She became known as “The Voice of Egypt”, “Star of the East” and “Egypt’s Fourth Pyramid”. Her music spans a time period of around fifty years (1924-1973), whereby mass cultural and political shifts were experienced in North Africa and the Middle East. Not alone did Umm Kulthum's music attribute to the cultural heritage of the region, her music also evolved with the changing political dynamics in Egypt. Umm Kulthum herself was thereby active in challenging the position of women in music and in the country and contributed to the forming of a national identity of the Egyptians after post-colonial rule.