By SHEYMA BUALI, LIFE.STYLE@ARABNEWS.COM

First Published on ARABNEWS: Jan 10, 2012

2011 was a year when women’s issues in Saudi Arabia took a good shaking. In June, the world witnessed the long awaited and exceptional move by women to take to the steering wheel and demand their right to drive. In September, King Abdullah announced women’s right to run and vote in the Shura Council. “We refuse to marginalize the role of women in every aspect of Saudi society,” he announced in a speech. But still, there is much fodder in the frustration of women’s positions in Saudi Arabia for artists to work with.

Manal Al Dowayan is one of them. Globally recognized, she is a prolific multi-media artist. Originally from the Eastern Province, Al Dowayan’s art, ranging from photography to installation and sculpture, has often touched on the crucial topic of gender-specific social obstacles in her home country. Her latest project, “My Name Is,” touches on a quieter cultural norm: the idea that uttering a woman’s name out loud is offensive.

“If I were to walk into any boys’ school in Saudi Arabia today and ask one of the students: ‘What is your name?’ He would answer the question with confidence. Should I ask: ‘What is your father’s name?’ He would again easily answer. However, should I ask: ‘What is your mother’s name?’ He would hesitate and become nervous and will decide not to give me an answer in an attempt to hide his mother’s name from his schoolmates.’”

This is the anecdote that is the basis of Al Dowayan’s project. Because of the communal contagion of this unspoken culture, Al Dowayan thought it important to base her new piece on a participatory practice. In that, the process of the work became just as valuable as the end result. Having run three workshops during December, in Alkhobar, Riyadh and Jeddah, Al Dowayan met with over 300 women who wrote their names on the large sized beads that ultimately make up the piece. The women included career women, award winning scientists, artists, mothers and grandmothers.

read more on ARAB NEWS: http://arabnews.com/lifestyle/art_culture/article561561.ece

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