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Once upon a time, in Egypt,
women who recited the Quran on the radio were considered celebrities.
For one day, every week,
their voices soared across the airwaves, broadcasting to the entire country.
They were household names in the 1920s and 30s.
Then one day, everything changed.
A religious ruling was issued, women's voices were banned,
and the era of female Quran reciters in Egypt came to an end.
Until now.
Welcome to the documentary on the BBC World Service.
I'm Salma El-Wadani, and for Heart and Soul,
I'm in Egypt meeting the women who are bringing female Qur'an reciting back into the public domain.
I was born in Egypt.
I'm Muslim, and like many other Muslims, I grew up listening to the Qur'an.