{"id":1874202,"date":"2026-04-09T14:31:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T11:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1874202"},"modified":"2026-04-09T14:31:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T11:31:00","slug":"5-photographers-redefining-womanhood-in-the-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1874202","title":{"rendered":"5 photographers redefining womanhood in the Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/986\/174-193-986-657\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443005.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"main-article standard \">\n<div class=\"article-main-content article-wrapper has-media-but-its-an-image\" data-status=\"loaded\" data-primary-article=\"true\" data-url=\"\/art-photography\/article\/70045\/1\/5-women-photographers-middle-east-archive-myriam-boulos-farah-al-qasmimi\" data-article-id=\"70045\">\n<header class=\"article-header has-landscape-image no-media\">\n<div class=\"wrapper dg-max-width\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<figure class=\"main-img has-figcaption\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.51\" data-template=\"Standard Article\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Farah Al Qasimi _ United Arab Emirates \" class=\"img\" height=\"938\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1400\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443005.jpg\" width=\"1417\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"inner\"><span class=\"credit\">Photography Farah <span class=\"nowrap\">Al Qasimi<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"meta\">\n<div class=\"inner\"><time datetime=\"2026-04-09T14:31:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"09 April 2026\"><span class=\"month\">April<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"9\">9,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"titles\">\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<div class=\"sections\"><a class=\"category vertical - art-photography\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\">Art &amp; Photography<\/a><br \/>\n\/<br \/>\n<a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/feature\">Feature<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"standard-tag-container\"><a class=\"standard-category\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\">Art &amp; Photography<\/a> \/<br \/>\n<a class=\"standard-series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/feature\">Feature<\/a><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"title\"><span>5 photographers redefining womanhood in the <span class=\"nowrap\">Middle East<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"standfirst\">\n<h2>Middle East Archive\u2019s new book, Women, features contributions from Myriam Boulos, Juliette Cassidy, Farah Al Qasimi and <span class=\"nowrap\">many more<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-04-09T14:31:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"09 April 2026\"><span class=\"month\">April<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"9\">9,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-04-09T14:31:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"09 April 2026\"><span class=\"month\">April<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"9\">9,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/p>\n<div class=\"providers\">\n<div class=\"contributors\"><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/HabiDiallo\">Habi Diallo<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-body-container\">\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"dazed-gallery has-23-images \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<header>\n<div class=\"info\"><span class=\"heading\">Middle East Archive \u2013 Al Nisa <span class=\"nowrap\">\/ Women<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumbs\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36919\/0\/middle-east-archive-al-nisa-women\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Myriam Boulos _ Lebanon (1)\" class=\"img\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2400-1600\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443027.jpg\" width=\"2400\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36919\/1\/middle-east-archive-al-nisa-women\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"13_RaniaMatar\" class=\"img\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-113-591-394\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443004.jpg\" width=\"591\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36919\/2\/middle-east-archive-al-nisa-women\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Farah Al Qasimi _ United Arab Emirates \" class=\"img\" height=\"657\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/174-193-986-657\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443005.jpg\" width=\"986\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36919\/3\/middle-east-archive-al-nisa-women\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Juliette Cassidy _ Afghanistan \" class=\"img\" height=\"680\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-317-1020-680\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443025.jpg\" width=\"1020\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36919\/4\/middle-east-archive-al-nisa-women\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Juliette Cassidy _ Afghanistan\" class=\"img\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-205-1023-682\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443007.jpg\" width=\"1023\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36919\/5\/middle-east-archive-al-nisa-women\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Aline Deschamps _ Lebanon \" class=\"img\" height=\"688\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-365-1033-688\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443021.jpg\" width=\"1033\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-footer\">Gallery \/ 23 images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>For the last six years, <em>Middle East Archive<\/em> has documented visual culture across the Middle East, North Africa, and the diaspora. Founded by curator Romaisa Baddar, the archive previously focused on living rooms across the MENA region. Now, MEA returns with its eighth publication, which shifts its focus to women and the ever-evolving definitions of femininity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The book features contributions from the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/myriam-boulos\">Myriam Boulos<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/farah-al-qasimi\">Farah Al Qasimi<\/a>, Rania Matar, Tanya Habjouqa, Isabelle Eshraghi, Ed Kashi, Farah Nosh, Nariman El-Mofty, Newsha Tavakolian, Nadia Bseiso, Haneen Hadiy and many more. The publication also features commissioned pieces from photographer Yumna Al Arashi, Maya Moumne and Haya Hamdallah.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When working on the book, Baddar\u2019s starting point began with the realisation of how often women are discussed and represented in culture. \u201cI wanted to create a book that feels like a celebration, but also reflects the diversity and complexity of their lives,\u201d she explains. With over 100 pictures from across the region, including Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco, Palestine, Iran and more, the book depicts women of all ages in their elements. <\/span><span>\u201cThe images resist the idea that there is one way to be a woman. And what made curating it so fun and interesting for me is working with over 70 different photographers who captured Women in different places, for different reasons, so I was able to accomplish this diversity through the access of so many different perspectives,\u201d explains Baddar. \u201cAt its core, the book is about recognition. About seeing women as central to our everyday lives, and acknowledging that without them, none of it holds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The varying depictions of womanhood also helped shape how the physical book was put together, with MEA introducing foldouts to allow images, and the women in them, to take up more space. \u201cThe approach in design was rooted in giving the women within it the space they deserve \u2013 physically, visually, and conceptually,\u201d explains Lana Soufeh, the book\u2019s designer. \u201cThe larger format was a deliberate decision to allow the images to feel dominant and fully present, resisting any sense of reduction or containment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>To celebrate the launch of the book, below we asked five photographers, Juliette Cassidy, Farah Al Qasimi, Tanya Habjouqa, Haneen Hadly, and Raina Matar, to break down the story behind the image they contributed to the book.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong>JULIETTE CASSIDY<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"15534b19-7c4f-4ec2-881e-b42500ecfb6b\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1025\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443007.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"0.8\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Juliette Cassidy _ Afghanistan\" class=\"img\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443007.jpg\" width=\"1025\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Afghanistan<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Photography Juliette Cassidy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>\u201cFor me, this image represents dignity in its purest form. I arrived in Afghanistan during a time of extreme instability, especially for women, children, and anyone entering the territory, due to the ongoing peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>I grew up in a region where terrorism and violence were commonplace, and I knew the media wasn\u2019t portraying the full reality. There was a story missing: the extraordinary capacity of Afghans to endure the unbearable. Through the eyes of these Skateistan girls, this image captures the remarkable resilience, adaptability, and courage of a people living through chaos and uncertainty.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong>FARAH AL QASIMI<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"b007a314-6a4e-4668-86f4-b42500ecf889\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1417\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443005.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.51\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Farah Al Qasimi _ United Arab Emirates \" class=\"img\" height=\"938\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443005.jpg\" width=\"1417\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">United Arab Emirates<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Photography Farah <span class=\"nowrap\">Al Qasimi<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>\u201c[This picture] was taken at the Wathba salt lake in Abu Dhabi in 2021, when people were still social distancing, so hanging out mostly happened outdoors. These three women were there taking photographs for their Instagram, and they looked like beautiful mermaids to me, so I asked if I could photograph them too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong>TANYA HABJOUQA<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"2011b247-61c0-47d9-afc7-b42500ecfec2\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1134\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443009.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.5\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tanya Habjouqa_ Palestine \" class=\"img\" height=\"756\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443009.jpg\" width=\"1134\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Palestine<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Photography Tanya Habjouqa<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>\u201cThis image is from <em>We Never Left the Mountain<\/em>, a testimony-driven project focused on a brief moment when all eyes were on Beita \u2013 when, for a moment, it felt like their resistance of music and playful laser lights was pushing back the expanding settler outpost. There hadn&#8217;t been anything that felt beautiful or hopeful in a long time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cYes, the resistance was around land \u2013 olive groves, access, livelihood. That alone is everything. But there was another motivation behind the resistance. The memory of Douma, not so far away, where settlers had burned alive an entire family \u2013 an infant, a mother, a father. Only a toddler survived. That memory was present. So for many, this wasn&#8217;t abstract. It was about survival. As one father explained to me, in a town of 15,000 residents, every household had gone through a misfortune \u2013 loss, injury, imprisonment. That scale of experience shaped everything on that mountain. And then there are the families themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cBy all accounts, Imad Ali Dweikat was an extraordinary father, deeply devoted to his girls. He had dreams for them: one to become a doctor, another an engineer. He believed in their futures. He was killed while protesting on that mountain, in part to protect that future. One of his daughters still cannot speak about him. She won\u2019t visit his grave. For me, the image holds that tension \u2013 between what looked like light, sound, and resistance, and what was actually being carried underneath it. Not only protest, but grief, fear, and the insistence on a future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong>HANEEN HADLY\u00a0<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"e4ff9576-0d90-4549-83da-b42500ecf90e\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/853\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443006.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"0.67\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Haneen Hadiy _ Iraq \" class=\"img\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443006.jpg\" width=\"853\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Iraq<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Photography Haneen Hadiy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>\u201cThis portrait defines Iraq. The land that has endured continuous suffering yet remains holding the weight of warmth, generosity and strength.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong>RANIA MATAR<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"88921573-776b-4658-b802-b42500ecfc69\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/827\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443008.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.25\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Rania Matar _ Lebanon \" class=\"img\" height=\"661\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443008.jpg\" width=\"827\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Maryam, 9, Beirut, <span class=\"nowrap\">Lebanon, 2011<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">Photography Rania Matar<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><em><span>L\u2019Enfant-Femme<\/span><\/em><span> is a series of portraits of young teens and pre-teen girls and how they interact with the camera. It is this fleeting time before puberty where a girl is between two worlds: the child she still is and the woman she is becoming. The only instruction I give the girls is not to smile, and I allow them to fall into their own poses. My aim is to portray the girl, when allowed to pose herself as she wishes in front of the camera. I try to capture alternatively the angst, the self-confidence or lack thereof, the body language, the sense of selfhood and the developing sense of becoming.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI came to photograph Clara&#8217;s sisters. Clara was a bit younger than the girls I had been photographing. She was pouting in the background, so I told her mum that I would be happy to photograph her as well. It was more because I didn\u2019t want her to be upset, but then she came, and she stole the show. She even became the cover of my book! Her attitude, her pose, her presence, the one blue fingernail, the hair bun to one side. She was just perfect, like a mini Odalisque.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI photographed Maryam on the very first day she began wearing the hijab, which gave me the rare opportunity to capture her both with and without it. I chose this particular image because something in her had visibly shifted \u2013 she carried herself with a striking maturity, as though the hijab marked her own conscious passage into young womanhood. This photograph captures the duality at the heart of this project: her body still that of a young girl, soft and unguarded, yet her gaze reaching far beyond her years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Head to the gallery above to check out more images from the book.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer class=\"article-footer\">\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<div class=\"article-series\">\n<h4 class=\"heading\">More on these topics<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-series\"><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\">Art &amp; Photography<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/feature\">Feature<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/middle-east\">Middle East<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/photographers\">Photographers<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/myriam-boulos\">Myriam Boulos<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/farah-al-qasimi\">Farah Al Qasimi<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<div class=\"grid\">\n<div class=\"lava-lamp\">\n<div class=\"lava-lamp-text-container\">\n<h3 class=\"lava-lamp-subheading\">Expand your creative community and connect with 15,000 creatives from around the world.<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid section-header\">\n<div class=\"section-header__link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/70045\/1\/art-photography\"><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"section-header__title\">READ MORE<\/h2>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid tag-article-list\">\n<div class=\"swiper swiper-latest\">\n<div class=\"swiper-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/70057\/1\/slava-mogutin-interview-analog-human-studies-photography-bob-mizer-gallery\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Slava Mogutin\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-0-1421-945\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443085.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Slava Mogutin\u2019s photos explore desire, vulnerability, sex and power<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/70039\/1\/dazed-club-creatives-march-2026-round-up-emerging-artists\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"HEYZA, by Anushka Holding\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-0-1000-665\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443031.png\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Dance, music and \u2018fantasy realism\u2019 from Dazed Clubbers<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/70032\/1\/cruise-jussi-puikkonen-cars-cruising-culture-finland-photo-book\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Jussi Puikkonen, Cruise\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-142-3000-1995\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442878.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">These atmospheric photos spotlight Finland\u2019s cruising scene<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/70037\/1\/dazed-club-is-taking-over-selfridges-for-four-nights-of-club-culture\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Artboard \u2013 1\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/174-0-1624-1080\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442916.png\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Dazed Club is taking over Selfridges for four nights of Club Culture<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/70012\/1\/ukraine-photo-book-arie-shahrokhshahi-absurdity-of-life-in-wartime\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Aria Shahrokhshahi, Wet Ground\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/511-533-1727-1149\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442497.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">These photos from Ukraine capture the absurdity of life in wartime<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/70011\/1\/meet-the-curator-and-artists-behind-resurgence-craft-reimagined\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Ajahee\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-0-616-410\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442753.png\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Meet the curator and artists behind Resurgence: Craft Reimagined<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/70020\/1\/art-shows-to-leave-the-house-for-april-2026-exhibitions-london-paris-ny\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"15-Donna Gottschalk, Myla a\u0300 seize ans, Mission Di\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-1-1934-1287\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442788.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Art shows to leave the house for in April 2026<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/70010\/1\/springtime-photo-book-round-up-erotica-helmut-newton-inez-vinoodh\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Well Basically Basuco is Coke Mixed with Kerosine.\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-2-3000-1995\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442782.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">8 new photo books for springtime<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/70017\/1\/5-boundary-pushing-artists-experimenting-tech-zero-10-art-basel-hong-kong\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Emi Kusano, Ornament Survival, Nursing the Machine (2026)\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-458-1999-1330\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442769.jpeg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">5 of the most boundary-pushing artists at Art Basel Hong Kong<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/69993\/1\/most-loved-photo-stories-march-2026-nan-goldin-brianna-capozzi-larry-sultan\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Brianna Capozzi, Womanizer \" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-2-2013-1338\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/1\/1441516.jpeg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">The most loved photo stories of March 2026<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/69955\/1\/whispers-against-my-neck-photo-book-us-youth-culture-chafetz-boulden\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Whispers Against My Neck\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/0-83-1964-1306\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442234.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Whispers Against My Neck: These photos document the chaos of youth<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/69999\/1\/nadia-lee-cohen-scarlett-carlos-clarke-idea-books-podunk-photo-tokyo-dsm\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Podunk \" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/325-224-1180-785\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/2\/1442622.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Podunk: Nadia Lee Cohen and Scarlett Carlos Clarke\u2019s enigmatic new book<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline\" data-newsletter hidden>\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"dazed-gallery has-23-images \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<header>\n<div class=\"info\"><span class=\"heading\">Middle East Archive \u2013 Al Nisa <span class=\"nowrap\">\/ Women<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumbs\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36919\/0\/middle-east-archive-al-nisa-women\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Myriam Boulos _ Lebanon (1)\" class=\"img\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-2400-1600\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443027.jpg\" width=\"2400\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36919\/1\/middle-east-archive-al-nisa-women\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"13_RaniaMatar\" class=\"img\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-113-591-394\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443004.jpg\" width=\"591\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36919\/2\/middle-east-archive-al-nisa-women\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Farah Al Qasimi _ United Arab Emirates \" class=\"img\" height=\"657\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/174-193-986-657\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443005.jpg\" width=\"986\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36919\/3\/middle-east-archive-al-nisa-women\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Juliette Cassidy _ Afghanistan \" class=\"img\" height=\"680\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-317-1020-680\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443025.jpg\" width=\"1020\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36919\/4\/middle-east-archive-al-nisa-women\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Juliette Cassidy _ Afghanistan\" class=\"img\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-205-1023-682\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443007.jpg\" width=\"1023\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36919\/5\/middle-east-archive-al-nisa-women\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Aline Deschamps _ Lebanon \" class=\"img\" height=\"688\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-365-1033-688\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443021.jpg\" width=\"1033\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-footer\">Gallery \/ 23 images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>For the last six years, <em>Middle East Archive<\/em> has documented visual culture across the Middle East, North Africa, and the diaspora. Founded by curator Romaisa Baddar, the archive previously focused on living rooms across the MENA region. Now, MEA returns with its eighth publication, which shifts its focus to women and the ever-evolving definitions of femininity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The book features contributions from the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/myriam-boulos\">Myriam Boulos<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/farah-al-qasimi\">Farah Al Qasimi<\/a>, Rania Matar, Tanya Habjouqa, Isabelle Eshraghi, Ed Kashi, Farah Nosh, Nariman El-Mofty, Newsha Tavakolian, Nadia Bseiso, Haneen Hadiy and many more. The publication also features commissioned pieces from photographer Yumna Al Arashi, Maya Moumne and Haya Hamdallah.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When working on the book, Baddar\u2019s starting point began with the realisation of how often women are discussed and represented in culture. \u201cI wanted to create a book that feels like a celebration, but also reflects the diversity and complexity of their lives,\u201d she explains. With over 100 pictures from across the region, including Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco, Palestine, Iran and more, the book depicts women of all ages in their elements. <\/span><span>\u201cThe images resist the idea that there is one way to be a woman. And what made curating it so fun and interesting for me is working with over 70 different photographers who captured Women in different places, for different reasons, so I was able to accomplish this diversity through the access of so many different perspectives,\u201d explains Baddar. \u201cAt its core, the book is about recognition. About seeing women as central to our everyday lives, and acknowledging that without them, none of it holds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The varying depictions of womanhood also helped shape how the physical book was put together, with MEA introducing foldouts to allow images, and the women in them, to take up more space. \u201cThe approach in design was rooted in giving the women within it the space they deserve \u2013 physically, visually, and conceptually,\u201d explains Lana Soufeh, the book\u2019s designer. \u201cThe larger format was a deliberate decision to allow the images to feel dominant and fully present, resisting any sense of reduction or containment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>To celebrate the launch of the book, below we asked five photographers, Juliette Cassidy, Farah Al Qasimi, Tanya Habjouqa, Haneen Hadly, and Raina Matar, to break down the story behind the image they contributed to the book.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong>JULIETTE CASSIDY<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"15534b19-7c4f-4ec2-881e-b42500ecfb6b\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1025\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443007.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"0.8\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Juliette Cassidy _ Afghanistan\" class=\"img\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443007.jpg\" width=\"1025\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Afghanistan<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Photography Juliette Cassidy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>\u201cFor me, this image represents dignity in its purest form. I arrived in Afghanistan during a time of extreme instability, especially for women, children, and anyone entering the territory, due to the ongoing peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>I grew up in a region where terrorism and violence were commonplace, and I knew the media wasn\u2019t portraying the full reality. There was a story missing: the extraordinary capacity of Afghans to endure the unbearable. Through the eyes of these Skateistan girls, this image captures the remarkable resilience, adaptability, and courage of a people living through chaos and uncertainty.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong>FARAH AL QASIMI<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"b007a314-6a4e-4668-86f4-b42500ecf889\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1417\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443005.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.51\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Farah Al Qasimi _ United Arab Emirates \" class=\"img\" height=\"938\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443005.jpg\" width=\"1417\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">United Arab Emirates<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Photography Farah <span class=\"nowrap\">Al Qasimi<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>\u201c[This picture] was taken at the Wathba salt lake in Abu Dhabi in 2021, when people were still social distancing, so hanging out mostly happened outdoors. These three women were there taking photographs for their Instagram, and they looked like beautiful mermaids to me, so I asked if I could photograph them too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong>TANYA HABJOUQA<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"2011b247-61c0-47d9-afc7-b42500ecfec2\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1134\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443009.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.5\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tanya Habjouqa_ Palestine \" class=\"img\" height=\"756\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443009.jpg\" width=\"1134\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Palestine<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Photography Tanya Habjouqa<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>\u201cThis image is from <em>We Never Left the Mountain<\/em>, a testimony-driven project focused on a brief moment when all eyes were on Beita \u2013 when, for a moment, it felt like their resistance of music and playful laser lights was pushing back the expanding settler outpost. There hadn&#8217;t been anything that felt beautiful or hopeful in a long time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cYes, the resistance was around land \u2013 olive groves, access, livelihood. That alone is everything. But there was another motivation behind the resistance. The memory of Douma, not so far away, where settlers had burned alive an entire family \u2013 an infant, a mother, a father. Only a toddler survived. That memory was present. So for many, this wasn&#8217;t abstract. It was about survival. As one father explained to me, in a town of 15,000 residents, every household had gone through a misfortune \u2013 loss, injury, imprisonment. That scale of experience shaped everything on that mountain. And then there are the families themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cBy all accounts, Imad Ali Dweikat was an extraordinary father, deeply devoted to his girls. He had dreams for them: one to become a doctor, another an engineer. He believed in their futures. He was killed while protesting on that mountain, in part to protect that future. One of his daughters still cannot speak about him. She won\u2019t visit his grave. For me, the image holds that tension \u2013 between what looked like light, sound, and resistance, and what was actually being carried underneath it. Not only protest, but grief, fear, and the insistence on a future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong>HANEEN HADLY\u00a0<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"e4ff9576-0d90-4549-83da-b42500ecf90e\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/853\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443006.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"0.67\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Haneen Hadiy _ Iraq \" class=\"img\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443006.jpg\" width=\"853\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Iraq<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Photography Haneen Hadiy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>\u201cThis portrait defines Iraq. The land that has endured continuous suffering yet remains holding the weight of warmth, generosity and strength.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><strong>RANIA MATAR<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"88921573-776b-4658-b802-b42500ecfc69\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/827\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443008.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.25\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Rania Matar _ Lebanon \" class=\"img\" height=\"661\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443008.jpg\" width=\"827\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Maryam, 9, Beirut, <span class=\"nowrap\">Lebanon, 2011<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">Photography Rania Matar<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><em><span>L\u2019Enfant-Femme<\/span><\/em><span> is a series of portraits of young teens and pre-teen girls and how they interact with the camera. It is this fleeting time before puberty where a girl is between two worlds: the child she still is and the woman she is becoming. The only instruction I give the girls is not to smile, and I allow them to fall into their own poses. My aim is to portray the girl, when allowed to pose herself as she wishes in front of the camera. I try to capture alternatively the angst, the self-confidence or lack thereof, the body language, the sense of selfhood and the developing sense of becoming.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI came to photograph Clara&#8217;s sisters. Clara was a bit younger than the girls I had been photographing. She was pouting in the background, so I told her mum that I would be happy to photograph her as well. It was more because I didn\u2019t want her to be upset, but then she came, and she stole the show. She even became the cover of my book! Her attitude, her pose, her presence, the one blue fingernail, the hair bun to one side. She was just perfect, like a mini Odalisque.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI photographed Maryam on the very first day she began wearing the hijab, which gave me the rare opportunity to capture her both with and without it. I chose this particular image because something in her had visibly shifted \u2013 she carried herself with a striking maturity, as though the hijab marked her own conscious passage into young womanhood. This photograph captures the duality at the heart of this project: her body still that of a young girl, soft and unguarded, yet her gaze reaching far beyond her years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Head to the gallery above to check out more images from the book.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/70045\/1\/5-women-photographers-middle-east-archive-myriam-boulos-farah-al-qasmimi&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/986\/174-193-986-657\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/3\/1443005.jpg&#8221;] Photography Farah Al Qasimi April\u00a0 9,\u00a0 2026 Art &amp; Photography \/ Feature Art &amp; Photography \/ Feature 5 photographers redefining womanhood in the Middle East Middle East Archive\u2019s new book, Women, features contributions from Myriam Boulos, Juliette Cassidy, Farah Al Qasimi and many more April\u00a0 9,\u00a0 2026 April\u00a0 9,\u00a0 2026 TextHabi Diallo [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,76],"class_list":["post-1874202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1874202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874202\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1874202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1874202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1874202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}