Your job... is to love me.

"Girls don't work with their degrees. Your job... is to love me. You won't have time for anything else. Just be the president of the republic of my heart."

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Singer tells women to give up work and focus on their man

These are the opening lines to a song that's proving worryingly popular in Beirut and Damascus. Naturally, it's also causing quite a stir with local women's rights supporters.

The song has enraged women's rights groups to such an extent that on 30 April a group of them met in the centre of Beirut to march in protest against "the stereotypical image of women" advocated by the lyrics. The following day in neighbouring Syria, an independent women's organisation called on the country's radio stations to boycott what they described "the promotion of poor taste".

Soon enough, a Facebook group was created to counter-attack the movement and support the song. The song itself, sung by Lebanese popstar Mohamed Iskandar, is clearly profiting from the controversy. Released just over a month ago, it features in the top ten hits of several radio stations.

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