Saudi Arabia's first ever anti-domestic-abuse ad.When it comes to women's rights, Saudi Arabia takes baby steps to a whole new level of infancy. (In utero steps? Spermy steps?) Sure, the King Khalid Charitable Foundation launched the country's first ever anti-domestic-violence ad last month, but women are still unable to defend themselves against those same domestic-violence cases in court. In 2013.One other huge breakthrough that I'm sure would have Susan B. Anthony setting off streamers in her grave is new legislation that allows women to ride bicycles. Granted, they still have to be supervised by menâbut bicycles! Think of the endless freedoms that come with finally being able to cycle around Riyadh, a city not built with cyclists in mind whatsoever!Oh, also, girls in private schools are now allowed to play sports, but girls in state schools still can't. So, much like in other parts of the world, the amount of rights a person gets depends entirely on their wealth.Despite these forward-thinking changes, Saudi Arabia was still ranked 131 out of 134 countries for gender parity in the 2012 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report. So recent, optimistic reports of Saudi Arabia going through a "feminist revolution" seem a little off the mark.I spoke to Nouf Alhimiary, a 20-year-old photographer from Jeddah, about the challenges she faced when trying to put on an art exhibition about Saudi women in a country where basically every minutely inflammatory art piece gets banned from public display.VICE: Hey, Nouf. How come you were only allowed to display half of your exhibition?
Nouf Alhimiary:You know that thing where you take a picture of your outfit every day and post it on Instagram or Twitter? I thought it was interesting that a lot my Saudi friends do that when theyâre out of the country, but canât do it here because they have to wear the exact same thing every day: the abaya. I wanted to create a parody of that by photographing women wearing the same thing in different places. I wanted to call it What She Wore/ What She Wore Underneath. The plan was to take pictures of all these women in the abaya, take pictures of whatever they were wearing underneath, and then display both pictures together.But you werenât allowed to do that?
The curator for the Mostly Visible show told me I couldnât do it because the government would have rejected it. In Saudi Arabia, the government has to look at every art project that's going to be exhibited to decide whether or not it can be displayed. The curator told me that if I included pictures of women outside their houses not wearing the abaya, they wouldnât display it.So what did you do?
I settled for What She Wore, which I actually like because it makes you ask, âWhy do all these women look like theyâre wearing a uniform?â But even though I only displayed pictures of women in the abaya, a lot of people at the exhibition came up to me and asked, âWhy are you trying to change women?âAre you trying to change women?
Iâm not really trying to change anything. Iâm just asking for the option to either wear the abaya or not. Iâm not asking for tradition to be diminished, Iâm just asking to be able to make that choice for myself and not have other people do it for me.Were you angry that your work was censored?
Being born in Saudi as a woman, Iâm used to it. I wasnât really outraged. I kind of saw it coming.I imagine these photos have a different impact on people who aren't from Saudi Arabia and don't see a whole population of women dressed like this all the time.
To someone whoâs not from Saudi, it looks strange because youâre not used to people looking very similar. If youâre from Saudi, youâre used to seeing women dressed in the same thing. But seeing these pictures together makes you think, You know what, maybe weâve taken it too far. Saudi men have the option of wearing traditional outfits or jeans and a shirt, and women donât have that choice.A lot of the Western press is saying that Saudi Arabia is going through some kind of feminist revolution, what with the release of the recent anti-domestic-violence ad and the change in bicycling laws. What do you make of that?
When I heard about the cycling law, I thought it was ridiculous. I mean, come on, you can now ride a bike with a guardian? You might as well be driven in a car. The streets in Saudi are not made for cycling. Itâs like the government is saying, âLook, weâre giving you something! Shut up, women!â No one wanted this. No one demanded the right to cycle.Do your friends share your opinion?
Everyone jokes about it. Everyone thinks itâs really ridiculous. As a woman in Saudi, youâre always a minor, no matter how old you get. You always need a guardian watching over you. Even if you need surgery, a man has to give you permission. I also know a lot of people who want to travel outside of the country, but they canât because their guardian wonât give them permission.Do you think your photographs will help to change things at all?
The change is very slow and there are a lot of obstacles standing in its way. Young, educated women are trying, but most people are too brainwashed to think for themselves. But I do think art is the most useful tool when it comes to promoting feminism in Saudi Arabia, because you can speak about so much and still be vague.How did you get into photography?
I started doing photography when my dad bought me a camera in middle school. In Saudi, you donât really hear about photography that much. I used to look at pictures in magazines, but the people in the magazines we had didnât look like the people around here.What was different?
You wouldnât see pictures of women in the abaya. Even in Arab magazines, the pictures youâd find were westernized. So I started taking photos of things around me and tried to make them look like the stuff I saw in magazines.And now youâre exhibiting in Venice?
Yeah, Iâm doing Venice with an arts initiative called Edge of Arabia right now. Iâd love to exhibit more abroad; itâs given me an insight into what Saudi culture is like to other people. I think itâs interesting as a cultural experience.Thanks, Nouf. Follow Tabatha on Twitter: @TabathaLeggettMore from Saudi Arabia:Let Them Build a Women-Only City in Saudi ArabiaWhat's It Like Being a Stand Up Comedian In Saudi Arabia?Saudi Arabia vs Israel: It's Cyber Warfare!
Advertisement
Nouf Alhimiary:You know that thing where you take a picture of your outfit every day and post it on Instagram or Twitter? I thought it was interesting that a lot my Saudi friends do that when theyâre out of the country, but canât do it here because they have to wear the exact same thing every day: the abaya. I wanted to create a parody of that by photographing women wearing the same thing in different places. I wanted to call it What She Wore/ What She Wore Underneath. The plan was to take pictures of all these women in the abaya, take pictures of whatever they were wearing underneath, and then display both pictures together.
Advertisement
The curator for the Mostly Visible show told me I couldnât do it because the government would have rejected it. In Saudi Arabia, the government has to look at every art project that's going to be exhibited to decide whether or not it can be displayed. The curator told me that if I included pictures of women outside their houses not wearing the abaya, they wouldnât display it.So what did you do?
I settled for What She Wore, which I actually like because it makes you ask, âWhy do all these women look like theyâre wearing a uniform?â But even though I only displayed pictures of women in the abaya, a lot of people at the exhibition came up to me and asked, âWhy are you trying to change women?âAre you trying to change women?
Iâm not really trying to change anything. Iâm just asking for the option to either wear the abaya or not. Iâm not asking for tradition to be diminished, Iâm just asking to be able to make that choice for myself and not have other people do it for me.Were you angry that your work was censored?
Being born in Saudi as a woman, Iâm used to it. I wasnât really outraged. I kind of saw it coming.I imagine these photos have a different impact on people who aren't from Saudi Arabia and don't see a whole population of women dressed like this all the time.
To someone whoâs not from Saudi, it looks strange because youâre not used to people looking very similar. If youâre from Saudi, youâre used to seeing women dressed in the same thing. But seeing these pictures together makes you think, You know what, maybe weâve taken it too far. Saudi men have the option of wearing traditional outfits or jeans and a shirt, and women donât have that choice.
Advertisement
When I heard about the cycling law, I thought it was ridiculous. I mean, come on, you can now ride a bike with a guardian? You might as well be driven in a car. The streets in Saudi are not made for cycling. Itâs like the government is saying, âLook, weâre giving you something! Shut up, women!â No one wanted this. No one demanded the right to cycle.Do your friends share your opinion?
Everyone jokes about it. Everyone thinks itâs really ridiculous. As a woman in Saudi, youâre always a minor, no matter how old you get. You always need a guardian watching over you. Even if you need surgery, a man has to give you permission. I also know a lot of people who want to travel outside of the country, but they canât because their guardian wonât give them permission.Do you think your photographs will help to change things at all?
The change is very slow and there are a lot of obstacles standing in its way. Young, educated women are trying, but most people are too brainwashed to think for themselves. But I do think art is the most useful tool when it comes to promoting feminism in Saudi Arabia, because you can speak about so much and still be vague.How did you get into photography?
I started doing photography when my dad bought me a camera in middle school. In Saudi, you donât really hear about photography that much. I used to look at pictures in magazines, but the people in the magazines we had didnât look like the people around here.
Advertisement
You wouldnât see pictures of women in the abaya. Even in Arab magazines, the pictures youâd find were westernized. So I started taking photos of things around me and tried to make them look like the stuff I saw in magazines.And now youâre exhibiting in Venice?
Yeah, Iâm doing Venice with an arts initiative called Edge of Arabia right now. Iâd love to exhibit more abroad; itâs given me an insight into what Saudi culture is like to other people. I think itâs interesting as a cultural experience.Thanks, Nouf. Follow Tabatha on Twitter: @TabathaLeggettMore from Saudi Arabia:Let Them Build a Women-Only City in Saudi ArabiaWhat's It Like Being a Stand Up Comedian In Saudi Arabia?Saudi Arabia vs Israel: It's Cyber Warfare!