Hakawati, a regional podcast network based in Beirut, aims to inspire, celebrate and empower women from across the Middle East by sharing stories of different women that are working to positively impact the Arab world.
The podcast, hosted by renowned Lebanese journalist and TV personality Mona Saliba, is made up of a series of interviews with women from all over the Arab world. In season 1, the success stories were more focussed on women from the Levant. Season 2 features women from the GCC such as Buthaina Nasr, the first Saudi female news anchor, and Bahrain’s very own chef Tala Bashmi where she discussed her culinary journey, obstacles and restaurant.
Gina Abou Hamad, cofounder of Hakawati, said: “We do this because we love to hear and tell stories. We seek out amazing women and shine a light on their struggles and triumphs.
“One of our producers came up with the name. In the old days, ‘khilqit binit’ was a phrase people used to express negativity. It translates to “a girl is born”, which wasn’t considered a good thing by some Arabic societies in the past. Our podcast celebrates women and we wanted to attach a positive connotation to the phrase.”
The second season is already out and everything was recorded at their studio in Beirut.
The show is available on all podcast apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, and Anghami. Search for Khilqit Binit on any of the apps to listen and subscribe. You can also check out the shows by visiting www.hakawati.fm.
They can also be found on:
Instagram: @hakawati.fm
Twitter: @hakawati_fm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hakawati.fm/
