Tackling taboos, breaking down barriers and making people laugh: Arab women stand-up comedians in Germany

In recent years, several European cities have witnessed a few Arabic Stand-Up Comedy shows. However, it is in the capital of Germany where a thriving community of Arabic-speaking stand-up comedians has found a permanent home.

In April, this community celebrated its first anniversary, marking the inception of the community after a stand-up comedy workshop conducted by Syrian comedian and podcaster Ammar Dabaa, who moved from Dubai to Amsterdam in 2020.

Since then, Dabaa has imparted his knowledge of stand-up comedy in various German and European cities through five stand-up comedy workshops, but it is in Berlin where his students shine, hosting a weekly open mic event and a monthly show.

Despite the prevalence of Syrian male participation in that scene, a few Arab women are making their mark within the new entertainment market by not only performing on stage but also organising their own shows.

The New Arab speaks to three Arab women stand-up comedians in Germany about their unexpected journey into comedy as well as the challenges and opportunities for Arabic-speaking comedians in Europe.

Ola Muchref

The 33-year-old resident of Berlin since 2018 is one of the few women stand-up comedians who witnessed the birth of the Arabic stand-up comedy scene through the first comedy workshop, which took place in April 2022 with only four female participants out of twelve.

"I do like storytelling, but I never thought of stand-up as my thing. I knew I wanted to hold a mic, but I just didn't know what to do"

However, transitioning into stand-up comedy from an international development background was not a carefully planned endeavour for her. Nevertheless, she recalls the workshop as a pivotal moment in her life.

“I was going through one of the worst downs in my life when my friend Ghaydaa Alquatly encouraged me to join a workshop she had organised for the first time," Ola tells The New Arab. 

"In the beginning, it felt like a friendly space because I had already known most of the participants, so I thought of it as a new hobby. Then overnight, we started doing shows and people started identifying us and coming to the shows. So, it was a surprise; I didn't even know I would be this good," she adds. 

‘’When I was in school, people used to tell me that I reminded them of a famous Egyptian comedian. I do like storytelling, but I never thought of stand-up as my thing. I knew I wanted to hold a mic, but I just didn't know what to do,’’ Ola, who studied English literature at a Syrian university and worked in Syria as a school teacher for a couple of years added.

Therefore, she had been hesitant to go on stage for the first time until the workshop trainer Ammar Dabaa inspired her to embrace the moment and dive into a life-changing experience.

‘’He told me: If you don’t go on stage, nothing happens, but if you take it, everything might happen. Since then, everything has been happening, good and bad, from both extremes,’’ she recalled.

For her, one of the most remarkable outcomes of that experience was restoring a particular relationship that she had lost with herself after she was moved by Dabaa’s dedication to honing the craft of stand-up comedy.

‘’I started talking to myself more and listening to what I had to say. Not an actual impulsive or abrupt, funny reaction to something that's just happening. I'm actually thinking about things and why they are funny or ridiculous or silly to me," she explains. 

‘’That was very inspiring, and I needed that at the time which made me continue doing stand-up comedy after the workshop.’’

’The beauty of comedy lies in its ability to tackle taboos and discomfort, and when a joke is funny, it can break down barriers and make people laugh, even if they may initially be uncomfortable with the topic"

One year later, Ola finds herself at a crossroads after quitting her job as a project manager at an international organisation.

"Currently, I'm looking for a new career, and I want to get the hell out of the world of the private sector. But at the same time, I'm very scared of capitalism."

Although she hasn't earned money yet from stand-up comedy, she fully embraces this new chapter of her life as a stand-up comedian. She regularly hosts a weekly open mic in Berlin and performs in monthly shows.

On International Women's Day, she joined the newly curated Arab all-female comedy lineups, which she found to be a powerful and empowering phenomenon in the Arabic comedy scene. It creates a space for underrepresented voices and attracts diverse audiences.

As an Arab immigrant woman, her material is not ‘’mainstream comedy’’, rather, it touches on taboo subjects, such as religion, and sexuality. Hence, she intentionally performs in Arabic because she believes there is power in using her own language to address topics that are often discussed in English within Arabic-speaking communities.

‘’The beauty of comedy lies in its ability to tackle taboos and discomfort, and when a joke is funny, it can break down barriers and make people laugh, even if they may initially be uncomfortable with the topic,’’ she explains.

Her background in teaching makes her think of other purposes for performing stand-up than mere entertainment, ‘’I realised the power of my role on stage to make people think or laugh at things they may not have considered before. Having a voice and expressing different opinions is important, even if it may not single-handedly change the community," Ola says. 

"But, I find inspiration in the idea that trying something new can lead to unexpected outcomes and encourages others to explore their curiosities.’’

When it comes to the audience’s response, she usually receives positive feedback and support, even when jokes don't land. The reason behind that is ‘’Berlin’s progressive and inclusive environment,’’ which makes her feel privileged to have started their comedy journey there. But on the same, she is aware that this is not the case for other German cities.

‘’We live in a bubble, no other place like Berlin, even in our community. But then I realised that we live in a bubble, inside a bubble where people try to be as woke as they can and as progressive as they can, but it is still a bubble,’’ she tells The New Arab.

Carmen Chraim

"Because starting to do stand-up comedy requires a lot of self-confidence and courage, Berlin is a great place for beginners. Its comedy scene is not as competitive as London or New York, making it easier to get on stage," says Carmen Chraim, drawing from her ten years of experience in both the English and German comedy scenes.

Originally from Lebanon, the 34-year-old moved to Germany in 2010 for a job in software development, six years before Berlin became the new home for thousands of Arab nationalities, with the majority from Syria.

"I had never witnessed the art of stand-up comedy until I left Lebanon, therefore, it art form immediately captured my attention in Berlin, and it became a cathartic way for me to express myself that I hadn't known before"

Two years into her new life in Berlin, Carmen enrolled in a theatre workshop as a means to meet new people and start a new hobby outside of work.

Through one of her classmates, she was invited for the first time ever to a stand-up comedy show. Speaking to The New Arab, she said, "I had never witnessed the art of stand-up comedy until I left Lebanon, therefore, it art form immediately captured my attention in Berlin, and it became a cathartic way for me to express myself that I hadn't known before.’’

For years, Carmen performed in languages other than her native Arabic. She began performing in English first, then expanded to other languages such as German and French.

She embarked on her comedy journey at a time when Berlin had just one open mic event. Carmen reflects on the comedy scene in Berlin ten years ago, saying, ''There were only a few showcases and everyone knew each other.'' In contrast, she notes that now there are numerous comedy shows and clubs.

"Slowly I understood that the audience is just interested in hearing my point of view as an Arabic woman, but not as a representative of Arab culture, based on my experience, background, and where I come from"

‘’When I started, there were a lot of Americans, British, Austrian, and Germans doing English, but no Arabs, as I recall. The English scene was not diverse in terms of ethnicity,’’ she added.

On being one of the few comedians with an Arab background in Berlin at that time, she turned a critical eye to her early years saying:  I felt like I was bringing in new concepts that people weren't aware of, such as making comparisons between Arabic culture and German culture," Carmen continues. 

"As a beginner, I fell into the trap of stereotypes, which I see now in the material of new Arab comedians in Berlin. Slowly I understood that the audience is just interested in hearing my point of view as an Arabic woman, but not as a representative of Arab culture, based on my experience, background, and where I come from."

Carmen came to the conclusion that the content of comedy should be personal and cathartic rather than focused on conveying a specific message or agenda.

In the following years, she played a vital role in the growth of the comedy scene by organising numerous successful shows, such as Comedy Auf Deuglish, Teepeeland Stands Up, and Stand Up Saturdays. Additionally, she co-hosts one of the longest-running weekly shows in Berlin, known as Monday Night Mics.

For several years, Carmen has been performing her own solo show and has had the opportunity to open for various internationally renowned comedians, including Todd Barry, Judah Friedlander, Andy Haynes, and Lisa Curry.

Not limited to Berlin, she has been touring multiple cities, including Krakow, Warsaw, Budapest, Barcelona, Helsinki, and various German cities.

However, it was only a few years ago that Carmen started performing in Arabic. Since she considers English her "comedy language" and due to the complexity of Lebanese Arabic, she felt intimidated performing in Arabic and being judged by others. Nevertheless, her first show in Arabic, alongside other Arab comedians in 2019, turned out to be "one of the best stage experiences" she ever had.

She was surprised by the difference between the Arabic audience and the English and German ones. "They're much more enthusiastic, happy, and ready to laugh out loud without any boundaries. On one hand, this kind of reaction gives the comedian a lot of energy and happiness. But on the other hand, you cannot really know if the punchline is actually funny or if it's working because of the vibe," she noticed.

Carmen, who performs monthly with the all-female Arab lineup, believes that the Arabic comedy scene in Berlin is still growing and developing, and audiences are becoming more versed in comedy over time.

As an Arab immigrant, Carmen Chraim believes that Arabic stand-up comedy in Berlin can bring people together, especially when it is communal and touches on topics that everyone can relate to.

Eman Khallouf

Among Berlin's emerging Arabic stand-up comedy scene, 42-year-old Eman Khallouf is the newest arrival to the city; she moved from Dubai six months ago. However, she is one of the most experienced comedians in the scene.

Within a few months of her move to Germany, she became one of three Arabic event producers in Berlin, including organising an all-female Arab lineup.

"If people don't give you an opportunity, you create your own as a woman"

Born to a Palestinian father and a Turkish mother, she grew up in Jordan and moved to the UAE in her thirties.

Like Ola and Carmen, landing in stand-up comedy was unplanned for Eman. She started doing comedy by mistake in 2017 when she joined a comedy school to improve her presentation skills.

However, she never considered pursuing comedy seriously until she was invited to perform at open mic nights in Dubai. That was when she met Dabaa and teamed up with him to create an Arabic stand-up comedy scene in Dubai. In 2019, the two of them with Carmen performed in Arabic together for the first time in Berlin.

But it wasn't until her early forties that she finally made up her mind to pursue a career in stand-up comedy and leave her job in the technology sector. "I told myself, now or never," she said.

"Now, I am a full-time stand-up comedian and the chief commercial officer for a feminist movement website," she added.

Given the small scale of the Arabic stand-up comedy scene compared to Berlin's strong English scene, she now also performs in English. Her bilingual performance experience in Dubai supported her decision. "Due to the pandemic and the lack of stage time in Arabic, I started doing more shows in English back then."

Regarding the status of women comedians within the industry, she noticed that they will never be treated the same as their male counterparts and will always be seen as "inferior."

Moreover, she stated, "There are fewer opportunities for female comedians globally, and they are judged more harshly than men. Some people even complain about women getting opportunities just because they are women. But women need more opportunities to become good comedians. Women need to be excellent to succeed, while men feel entitled to opportunities," she told The New Arab.

In the face of these gender-related challenges, Eman believes, "If people don't give you an opportunity, you create your own as a woman."

This is the idea behind organizing the Arab all-female comedy show, although she acknowledged that it can be difficult to find active Arab woman performers. "But I need to keep it alive, just a chance for another girl who might join in at a certain point," she added.

Basma Elmahdy is a media research consultant and freelance journalist

Follow her on Twitter @basmaelmahdy