hkubra:

I am not sure what was the intention of the artist when creating this piece, but regardless of the multitude of feelings it may invoke in one, ranging from very negative to very positive, while looking at it only one feeling is invoked deep within me: I find it beautiful. Beautiful, in an unconventional way may be because I am not used to see something beautiful like this in this very format; for this very format often comes to realisation as nude bodies or completely abstract curves. Here, I see something beautiful, that is very corporeal and realistic yet also very abstract and surrealistic. And I like it. I think, it is beautiful. 

(Source: nobodycangiveyoufreedom)

“Muslima: Muslim Women’s Art & Voices”, a global online exhibition from the International Museum of Women (IMOW). Muslima presents a groundbreaking collection of thought pieces and artwork from contemporary Muslim women who are defining their own identities and, in the process, shattering pervasive stereotypes. Explore work from artists, activists, and thought-leaders around the world, representing a broad spectrum of Muslim realities and identities, addressing such topics as Power, Leadership, Appearance, Myths, Generations, Faith and Connection.

Visit the website

tarrifiq:

Oath to the Springs of My Land, 2011 (Ali Ettehad)

mehreenkasana:

equimby:

“Veiling is legitimized by the element of choice, and it is the presence or lack of choice that creates the context of whether the hejab frees a woman or objectifies her. Yet history, in all its intersections between the Old and New World, shows that patriarchy repeatedly finds a way to sneak in and impose itself on women’s dress, all in the name of “liberation.”

Leila Ahmed, an eminent scholar on gender and feminism in Islam, has argued that the linking between women and the veil as oppression “was created by Western discourse.” A seemingly progressive male-driven resistance developed, which urged women to abandon the veil as a means of emancipation was therefore a mirror image of the colonial narrative; it “contested the colonial thesis by inverting it – thereby also, ironically, grounding itself in the premises of the colonial thesis.” Back home in Europe and America, these same “liberating” men fought against female suffrage for the right to vote. Feminism, in many ways, became a passive aggressive tool by which to continue to control women within a patriarchal framework.

Veiling, conversely, became a symbol for resistance against invading colonialism, only truly becoming an issue for women when they felt their cultures come under attack. Far from reconciling themselves as symbols of female submission, women, throughout the history of Western intervention in the Middle East, have persistently covered themselves to make their presence known, to be seen in opposition to whatever powers would rather paint them anonymous and invisible.”

- Revolution 2.12: The Revolution Will Not Be Veiled | Safa Samiezade’-Yazd

Read this.

almohamedg:

Bazooka 
By: Mohamed Mousa

hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil

By Hannah Habibi (who is now on tumblr!)

lookfar:

Bokja, Arab Fall.

The Shrine - Soody Sharifi

OMG, LOOK AT WHAT THE ARTIST HAS TO SAY:

Peering out from black veil are the bright and happy eyes of a young woman, inviting you to see her incomplete self-portrait. With youthful optimism she would like everyone to know that there is nothing evil about the lovely swirls of her hair. The portrait also includes her lips; symbolic of her dream to be educated and respected with a positive voice in the world. The vibrant beauty of the girl’s smiling eyes form a striking contrast to the dark fabric covering her body and mouth as though she should be ashamed and forbidden to speak. The girl behind the veil attempts to show you that her hair, although covered, is not evil. She has a voice and she has something to say. The girl does not notice a large bird hovering over her. The winged beast has arisen out of the fabric of her robes. It watches and waits; expecting to feed upon the death of the girl’s hopes and dreams. And who can say “no” to the positivity and empowerment in the girl’s vibrant eyes? Who will prevail? 

All I see is someone, holding a strange picture, and a bird that’s clearly out of place.

Veils don’t turn individuals into spectacles, tyvm

Veiled Dreams - Elahe Crockett(via kolkhara)