Role of Arab Women in Breaking Stereotypes with the Support of Art

This research focuses on the role of Arab women artists in breaking stereotypes within the Arab culture through their artwork. It examines the life and work of Shurooq Amin and Manal Al Dawaiyan, two renowned feminist artists in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia respectively. The research aims to analyze the effectiveness of their artistic work in challenging societal norms and stereotypes.

Running head: DISSERTATION
Role of Arab women in breaking stereotypes with the support of art: A case study of Shurooq
Amin and Manal Al Dawaiyan
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Acknowledgement
Thank you to all of those who have helped listened and encouraged me throughout this study. I
am indebted to my supervisor ……………………. whose guidance, advice and patience have
been immeasurable. My sincere thanks to all members of the…………… [Mention your
university/college name], both staff and students, whose continuous support have made this
thesis possible.
I would like to thank all of the participants in the study: students, teachers and Local Education
Authorities, for the time and help given throughout. Without their participation, this research
would not have been possible. In this context, I am also thankful to them, whose research work
helped me to execute this paper well.
Finally, I thank my family, without whom this thesis would not have been started or completed!
Your encouragement and support have never faltered; thank you.

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Abstract
The aspect of stereotypes are present in the context of every nation state of the world and in their
culture. The purpose of this research is to lay emphasis on the understanding of the significant
role that is played by the Arab women artist in revealing to the society that the evils that are
present within this Arab culture. This paper seeks to focus on the life and work of a renowned
feminist artists in Kuwait, known as Shurooq Amin and of Manal Al Dawaiyan of Saudi Arabia.
The first chapter is the introductory chapter of the dissertation. This chapter provides an insight
in to the main objective of this research. This chapter also outlines the various research
objectives and research questions that this paper seeks to answer in the course of the work. The
second chapter is that of literature review. In this chapter, the researcher consults the various
sources of secondary literature such as that of books, academic articles and journals related to the
topic at hand. In this regard the researcher tries to understand the various stereotypes that are
present within. The third chapter is known as research methodology. In this chapter, the
researcher outlines and describes the various methods that have been used in the course of the
research for its effective execution. The forth chapter tries to find the relevant information for the
research topic. In this regard, this chapter looks in to the different art work of Shurooq Amin and
Manal Al Dawaiyan who has tried to break the stereotype present in the society with the aid of
such art work. The fifth chapter of the dissertation tries to analyze the data that has been
collected so far in answering the main research objective of this paper. The sixth chapter of the
paper is the concluding chapter. This chapter synthesizes all the information which has so far
been presented in the paper in order to get a comprehensive understanding of the research aim.
This chapter shows the significance of this research work for the future studies related to this
field.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................7
1.0 Over view...............................................................................................................................7
1.1 Problem Statement.................................................................................................................8
1.2 Research Aim.........................................................................................................................9
1.3 Research Objectives...............................................................................................................9
1.4 Research Questions..............................................................................................................10
1.5 Research Rationale...............................................................................................................10
1.6 Research Structure...............................................................................................................11
1.7 Summary..............................................................................................................................13
Chapter 2: Literature Review.........................................................................................................14
2.0 Over view.............................................................................................................................14
2.1 Meaning of stereotypes........................................................................................................14
2.2 Stereotypes present in the Arab region................................................................................17
2.3 The social status and position of the Arab women..............................................................19
2.3.1 Economic sphere...........................................................................................................19
2.3.2 Social sphere.................................................................................................................19
2.3.3 Political sphere..............................................................................................................20
2.3.4 Cultural sphere..............................................................................................................21
2.4 The importance of art in breaking stereotype......................................................................22
2.4.1 Before the Age of Enlightenment.....................................................................................22

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2.4.2 During The Age of Enlightenment...................................................................................24
2.4.3 Present contemporary world.............................................................................................25
2.5 The efforts made by the Arab women to break stereotypes.................................................27
2.5.1 Stereotypes present in the Arab region with regards to women...................................27
2.5.2 Historical art work present within the Arab region......................................................28
2.5.3 How Arab women seek to break stereotypes................................................................29
2.6 The role played by art in breaking stereotypes present in the Arab world..........................30
2.7 Summary..............................................................................................................................35
Chapter 3: Research Methodology.................................................................................................37
3.0 Over view.............................................................................................................................37
3.1 Research Outline..................................................................................................................37
3.2 Research Philosophy............................................................................................................37
3.2.1 Application of research philosophy..............................................................................38
3.3 Research Approach..............................................................................................................38
3.3.1 Application of research approach.................................................................................39
3.4 Research Design...................................................................................................................39
3.4.1 Application for research design....................................................................................40
3.5 Research Strategy.................................................................................................................40
3.5.1 Application of research strategy...................................................................................41
3.6 Data collection process........................................................................................................42

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3.6.1 Application of data collection process..........................................................................42
3.7 Data analysis technique........................................................................................................42
3.7.1 Justification of data analysis technique.........................................................................43
3.8 Ethical Issues.......................................................................................................................43
3.9 Accessibility Issues..............................................................................................................44
3.10 Summary............................................................................................................................44
Chapter 4: Data Findings...............................................................................................................45
4.0 Over view.............................................................................................................................45
4.1 Interview with Shurooq Amin.............................................................................................45
4.2 Interview with Manal Al Dowaiyan....................................................................................52
4.3 Summary..............................................................................................................................57
Chapter 5: Data Analysis...............................................................................................................58
5.0 Over view.............................................................................................................................58
5.1 Theme 1: Stereotypes present in the Arab society...............................................................58
5.2 Theme 2: Importance of Arab art.........................................................................................61
5.3 Theme 3: Arab artists breaking stereotypes with the aid of art...........................................63
5.4 Summary..............................................................................................................................67
Chapter 6: Conclusion....................................................................................................................69
6.0 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................69
6.1 Linking with objectives........................................................................................................70

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6.2 Future Scope of study..........................................................................................................72
Bibliography:.................................................................................................................................73
Appendix........................................................................................................................................87
Interview Questions for Shurooq Amin.....................................................................................87
Interview Questions for Manal Al Dawaiyan............................................................................88

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.0 Over view
The Middle East region is considered to be one of the most highly conflicted zones of the
world (Rizzo 2017, p 10). The countries which fall in this area of the world are mainly inhabited
by the Arab population, ascribing to the Islamic religious faith. The people of this region place a
lot of emphasis and importance on the religious doctrine of their Holy Book of Quran whose
ideas are sought to be followed in both the personal sphere as well as the public sphere of
activity. In other words, the scriptures guide the daily activities of the individuals (Ginat 2017,
p5). The doctrines of the Quran are usually interpreted by a religious group of people who are
known as the ulemas in this part of the world. In this context, it can be observed that while
interpreting the various religious doctrines of Islam, there is a considerable potential that the
actual meaning of the doctrines would get lost in the process of such translation (Tlaiss and
Dirani 2015, p 14).
The preponderant influence of the doctrines of Quran on the lives of the people has
shaped the way of living of the two genders. In the Islamic way of life, it can be seen that the
men and the women are not ascribed an equal status in the society (Sidani 2016, p 10-16). This
has posed a challenge to the way of life of the women gender as they are not given the same
freedom as their male counterpart in terms of their educational freedom, the rights which are
given to them to participate in the public sphere of activity such as taking an active participation
in the process of elections and other activities of similar nature. This has given rise to the feeling
of oppression among the female gender within the region of Middle East (Arar and Shapira 2016,
p 7).

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This stereotype which is present in the entireArab cultureof the Middle Eastwhereby the
male gender is found to be more dominating, has significantly impacted the lives of the female
gender of the Arab countries (Holmes-Eber 2018, p 32). Irrespective of the various countries in
the Middle East, the women are treated in a subservient manner. The aspect of stereotypes are
present in the context of every nation state of the world and in their culture. The main objective
of the presence of stereotyping is that it reduces a particular society and community to a single
thought process with the aid of which the other people of the world are able to recognize the
concerned culture or community (Layish 2017, p 41).
The purpose of this research is to lay emphasis on the understanding of the significant
role that is played by the Arab women artist in revealing to the society that the evils that are
present within this Arab culture. In this manner, they aim to hold a mirror to the various societal
aspects (Abalkhail and Allan 2016, p 13). This paper seeks to focus on the life and work of a
renowned feminist artists in Kuwait, known as Shurooq Amin and of Manal Al Dawaiyan of
Saudi Arabia. The paintings painted by Shurooq Amin are marvelous and ground breaking as
they seek to challenge the very cultural norms to which she belongs. She attempts to interrogate
the various cultural constructs of religion, truth, class, gender and sexuality.
1.1 Problem Statement
The Arab women face a lot of challenges within their own society in the Middle East
region of the world. Their political systems do not allow them the various freedoms that are
universally granted to all the other individuals of the world (Saleh 2017, p 11). Furthermore,
their lives are governed by their own male counterparts who seek to ensure the continuance of
this subservient nature of their own women. In this regard, the society of Arab has certain social

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evils which prevails in it and as a consequence, this society has been stereotyped by the other
individuals of the globe in the context of such social evils.
In the contemporary world order, it can be observed that there are some women
particularly belonging to this Arab culture, who have taken the onus of ensuring that their voices
are heard by the other nation states of the world. Instead of taking a recourse to political
movements or public outcry, such women has now taken refuge within the field of art (Buang
and Suryandari 2017, p 21). They try to portray their challenges and hard ships through such art
with the aid of which they wish to make their voices heard in the larger community.
However, even in this respect, they face certain issues. There exists many varied kinds of
social evils within the Arab culture in the context of the female gender. Breaking all of these
stereotypes will prove to be quite difficult for the artists who have taken up such a challenging
responsibility (Kostenko, Kuzmuchev and Ponarin 2016, p 14). Holding up a mirror and
confronting the very nature of the society is a monumental task for any one individual without
the active support from the other members of the society who also desire such changes. Thus,
there is a need to understand the life and the work done by such artists and the extent to which
they have been successful in their endeavor (Yahiaoui and Al Ariss 2017, p 10).
1.2 Research Aim
The aim of the research is to understand the life and work of the leading women artists
within the Arab culture with particular reference to Shurooq Amin and Manal Al Dawaiyan and
to analyze the extent of her work in breaking the stereotypes present within the Arabian culture.
1.3 Research Objectives
The objectives of the research can be stated as follows –

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1. To determine the role of stereotyping as present within the Arab region, especially within
Kuwait.
2. To discuss the role played by the women present in the Arab culture.
3. To understand the importance of the Arab women as professional artists.
4. To identify and analyze the effectiveness of artistic work done by Arab women to break
stereotypes present in the society.
1.4 Research Questions
The research questions can be stated as follows –
1. What is the role of stereotyping as present within the Arab region, especially within Kuwait?
2. What is the role played by the women present in the Arab culture?
3. What is the importance of the Arab women as professional artists?
4. What is the effectiveness of artistic work done by Arab women to break stereotypes present in
the society?
1.5 Research Rationale
A region in the world is known by its cultural aspects and the people who ascribe to such
cultural aspects (Almansour and Kempner 2016). The geographical boundaries does not apply
much in the present order of the contemporary society but it is still significantly present. In this
context, it can be seen that the region of the Middle East is considered to be one of the most
traditional and religious places of the world. The ascription to religious doctrines from the Holy
Book of Quran, in this part of the world is significantly high (Akhmatshina and Nikonov 2017, p
11). Furthermore, such religious doctrines are found to play a preponderant role in the lives of

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the people who live in this part of the world. The stereotype which is present in the Arab region
of the world is that people often perceive this region to be a male dominated society. In this
regard, it can be seen that the female genders are given a subservient position in the Arabic
culture (Asadi and Hooshangi 2018, p 30). Such females are not given the freedom by their male
counterparts to take an active part in any of the fields related to the public sphere.
However, in the present world order, significant measures are being undertaken by the
females belonging to this culture to break this stereotype with the aid of art work (Yahiaoui and
Al Ariss 2017, p 9). The artists, such as Shurooq Amin of Kuwait, have found a medium in the
form of art to express her frustration with the Arabian culture and therefore, to confront all of the
social evils with the perceived notion of breaking them. In this regard, this research work is
considered to be significant because it aims to understand the status of women living in the
Middle East and the significant role played by them in the present society to break the
stereotypes with the support of peaceful artistic notions.
1.6 Research Structure
Introduction - The first chapter is the introductory chapter of the dissertation. This
chapter provides an insight in to the main objective of this research. The aim of the research is to
understand the life and work of the leading women artists within the Arab culture with particular
reference to Shurooq Amin and Manal Al Dawaiyan and to analyze the extent of her work in
breaking the stereotypes present within the Arabian culture. Additionally, this chapter also
outlines the various research objectives and research questions that this paper seeks to answer in
the course of the work.
Literature review - The second chapter is that of literature review. In this chapter, the
researcher consults the various sources of secondary literature such as that of books, academic

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articles and journals related to the topic at hand. In this regard the researcher tries to understand
the various stereotypes that are present within the Arabian culture and how the women artists are
undertaking the measures to break apart such stereotypes with the support of art work.
Research Methodology - The third chapter is known as research methodology. In this
chapter, the researcher outlines and describes the various methods that have been used in the
course of the research for its effective execution. The positivism research philosophy, descriptive
research design and deductive research approach has been utilized in this research. Furthermore,
the related information pertaining to the art work of Shurooq Amin has been collected from the
various secondary sources and analyzed with the aid of qualitative data analysis technique.
Data Findings - The forth chapter tries to find the relevant information for the research
topic. In this regard, this chapter looks in to the different art work of Shurooq Amin and Manal
Al Dawaiyan who has tried to break the stereotype present in the society with the aid of such art
work. Additionally, this chapter also examines an exclusive interview that was done by the Arab
Times with Shurooq Amin with regard to her work.
Data Analysis - The fifth chapter of the dissertation tries to analyze the data that has
been collected so far in answering the main research objective of this paper. The data related to
Shurooq Amin and Manal Al Dawaiyan and their art work has been related with the information
gathered in the literature review section to understand the extent to which Shurooq Amin and
Manal Al Dawaiyan have been successful in breaking the stereotype present within the Arab
culture.
Conclusion and Recommendation - The sixth chapter of the paper is the concluding
chapter. This chapter synthesizes all the information which has so far been presented in the paper

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in order to get a comprehensive understanding of the research aim. This chapter also provides a
brief recommendation on how to improve the status of the women living in Arabian countries by
breaking the stereotypes attached to them. This chapter shows the significance of this research
work for the future studies related to this field.
1.7 Summary
To summarize, this chapter outlines the main objective and purpose of this research. The
aim of the research is to understand the life and work of the leading women artists within the
Arab culture with particular reference to Shurooq Amina and to analyze the extent of her work in
breaking the stereotypes present within the Arabian culture. This chapter also lays down the
research objectives and the related research questions. Furthermore, the chapter provides a brief
outline of the remaining chapters of the dissertation and how they would be structured.

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Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.0 Over view
This chapter examines the various stereotypes that exist within the region of the Middle
East in the context of the women folk. The aim of the research is to understand the life and work
of the leading women artists within the Arab culture with particular reference to Shurooq Amin
and Manal Al Dawaiyan and to analyze the extent of her work in breaking the stereotypes
present within the Arabian culture. In this regard, the various books, academic journals and
articles have been consulted in order to understand the points of view of the scholars and to
gather their opinions.
2.1 Meaning of stereotypes
According to Whitley Jr and Kite (2016, p 8), stereotype is a social construct whereby a
generalized belief is attributed to the particular group of social people. Through stereotyping a
particular group of people is expected to act in a particular manner or hold a particular set of
ideas and beliefs. As stated by Fiske (2016, p 12), the expectation form the members of such a
group of people does not usually change through time and space. In other words, as opined by
Siy and Cheryan(2016, p 19), if an individual belonging to a particular culture is present in
another part of the world, away from his or her own community, the stereotype which is seen to
be present in the context of such a social group, will also be applicable to that individual as well.
This shows that stereotype are not bounded by geographical boundaries.
Stereotyping can be done in two ways such as explicit stereotypes and implicit
stereotypes. According to Schmid and Amodio(2017, p 21), explicit stereotypes refer to those
stereotypes which are verbally communicated to the concerned individuals in a verbal manner.

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Explicit stereotypes also refers to those stereotypes that an individual is aware that he or she
holds. As stated by Madva and Brownstein (2018, p 14), they are also aware of the fact that the
other members of the community judge them on the basis of such stereotypes. In this regard, it
becomes possible for the individuals to control the stereotypes that are present within them,
although such measures of control do not provide to be effective in most of the cases. As opined
by Hamilton (2015, p 11), this is due to the fact that stereotypes are usually based on the culture
or values that are imbibed within an individual. In this respect, it becomes highly impossible to
control such beliefs and values which gives a significant shape to the personality of the
individuals.
Implicit stereotypes, on the other hand, as stated by Duguid and Thomas-Hunt (2015, p
14), refer to those stereotypes which are present within the subconscious mind of an individual.
This means that the individuals are not aware of the various beliefs and values which are held by
them and as a result, they do not have an idea of how to control them consciously.
However, as argued by Payne, Vuletich and Lundberg (2017, p 9), it is important to
understand that the stereotypes which are held by the members of the society do not reflect the
real situation as it is existing in the society. In this regard, it becomes essential to discriminate
amongst the related yet differing concepts of discrimination, prejudice and stereotyping.
According toTodd et al. (2016, p 14) stereotypes refer to the cognitive component that are
present within the individuals of the society. Such stereotypes occur without any conscious
awareness being made to their presence. On the other hand, as opined by Mackie and Smith
(2016, p 30), prejudice refer to the affective segment of the concept of stereotype. Discrimination
on the other hand, refers to the behavioral component of such prejudices and their reactions.

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According to Bodenhausen, Macrae and Sherman (2016, p 23), stereotype refers to the
various attributes that the other individual of a society thinks characterizes a particular group of
people within the same community. In this regard, as stated by Forscher et al. (2015, p 27), it can
be observed that stereotypes usually contains those information that people think of others rather
than understanding the mechanisms and reason involved being such stereotyping. Stereotypes
have been inexistence since the dawn of human civilization. According to Czopp, Kay and
Cheryan(2015, p 14), it is such stereotyping which has created a divide between the ‘self’ and the
‘others’. In this respect, as stated by Aberson (2015, p 19), the various ethnic stereotypes that
existed in the earlier times of human history, were mainly negative in context. They did not see
favorably upon the other members the society who held different cultural values and belief
system which are widely different from them.
According to Rohmer and Louvet(2018, p 4), stereotypes usually flowed from the idea
that the way of life of a person is determined to a great extent by the various religious doctrines
that they ascribe to. In this context, it can be seen that almost all the religious faiths existing in
the world have their own personal way of life which their followers are required to ascribe to. In
the words of Bilewicz and Sedek(2015, p 53), this poses a challenge because the culture from
such religious beliefs and the faith system, highly discriminates against the people who ascribe to
a different way of life.
In this regard, as stated by Rohmer and Louvet(2018, p 14), the stereotype which is
usually present against a particular group of individual flows from the way of life they conform
to. According to Wang et al. (2017, p 32), the manner in which a person eats, the food they eat,
the kind of clothes they wear, their belief systems and the values they flow, all become sources
of stereotyping.

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2.2 Stereotypes present in the Arab region
The Middle East region of the world consist of those countries who adhere to the Islamic
faith of the Muslim world. However, according to Fawcett (2016, p.66), there exists many other
religions within this region of the world such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam and the Bahai faith
among many others. The presence of so many different kinds of faith signifies the existence of
various kinds of way of life of the people. In other words, as stated by Deeb and Winegar (2015,
p.18), the cultural values and beliefs held by the people of this region varies from one
community to that of another.
The Middle East region is considered to be the geographical territory of the Arab people.
According to Milton-Edwards (2018, p.34), there are certain stereotypes which are attached to
this Arab group of people, one of which mainly flows from the religious doctrines they adhere to.
The Arab population of the world, especially those living within the countries of the Middle
East, ascribe to the Islamic faith of the Muslim world. As stated by Fawcett (2016, p.66), the
Holy Book of the Muslim population is that of the Quran. The Quran is the fourth scared book of
the almighty Allah of the Islam faith. It lays down, in a detailed and comprehensive manner, all
the various ways in which a good life can be led and can therefore, be rewarding in nature. In
this respect, as stated by Milton-Edwards (2018, p.34), the Quran is considered to be the book of
guidance for all of the human kind which lays down the principles and commandments of the
Allah with respect to the Muslim people. Such guidance is considered to lead a person to attain
salvation and a guarantee to receive a safe haven in heaven after one’s death.
Some of the stereotypes that are present in the Arab regions that proclaims the differences
between the people of that region with that of the other regions include:

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The Arab women are considered as incompetent in their quest to be actively in any form
of arts or professionalism. As stated by Beaumont, Blake and Wagstaff (2016, p.56) even in the
age of globalisation and modernisation, the stereotypes of the Arabian women can be considered
as one of the drawbacks of the countries mainly due to the perception of the people and the type
of dress that are worn by the females.
According to Rohmer and Louvet (2018, p.127), it has been seen that the black veil that
is worn by the women are criticised by many people particularly that of the Westerners. In the
words of Whitley Jr, and Kite (2016, p.33) the belief of the Westerners is that it is used to hide
the true identifies and that any form of terrorist actions undertaken originates from the hiding of
the self underneath the veil. Thus, this form of stereotype portrays the status of the women along
with other people in the country.
The veiling of the women and men can be considered as a stereotype that exists in most
Muslim countries. Todd et al. (2016, p.306) is of the opinion that the peace loving nature that the
people are usually associated with can be considered as one of the characteristics that exist
among the Muslims. In this regard, from the research conducted by Brescoll (2016, p.415) it can
be said that Westerners like the people in the United States, portray the Muslims as terrorist
people due to incidents that lead to war and loss of lives.
However, as stated by Dundes (2017, p.33) one of the important considerations that are
needed to be kept in mind is the fact that most of the Muslim nations do not have any significant
connections with violent acts. In the words of Fawcett (2016, p.66), the stereotype of the Arabian
countries being violent is another consideration and thus, the people residing in the countries
both men and women are stereotyped. Thus, this can be considered as one of the important
stereotypes that exist among the people residing in the Arabian region.

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2.3 The social status and position of the Arab women
The social status and position of the women in the region of Arab is affected significantly
in the various fields of human activity. In this regard, mention can be made of the fields of
economic, political, social and cultural.
2.3.1 Economic sphere
Economically the social status and position of the Arab women can be considered as
vulnerable mainly because of the restrictions in the earning ability of the women. As stated by
Crane, Kawashima and Kawasaki (2016, p.11) in the Arabian countries, one of the perceptions is
the fact that the richness of the countries can compel the women to abstain from work. This can
help in the development of the social status of the people and in the economic context can bring
about barriers in terms of the non-monetary contribution made. Hence, from the words of Madva
and Brownstein (2018, p.611) it can be said that an imbalance is introduced in the economic
condition of the countries and at the same time, help in stabilising the position of the women in
the country.
Therefore, it can be said that the social status and position of the Arab women can be
considered as vulnerable based on the economic perspective as the contribution made by them is
low. However, Sabella, El-Far and Eid (2016, p.1002) countered the fact that women are not
provided with enough opportunities to be economically viable and thus, it can be said that
judging the social status and position of the women based on the economic condition can be
considered as a loss owing to the masculinity culture that exists in the Arab countries.
2.3.2 Social sphere
The social status of the women in the Arab countries can be considered as low due to the
perception that exists about the men dominant countries. It has been seen from previous research

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that human beings have always managed to divide its members into different groups and these
groups can be implemented in terms of men and women population. As stated by Bian, Leslie
and Cimpian (2017, p.389) in the Arabian countries, the social status of the women is poor due to
the masculinity that exists and the understanding undertaken by the Western culture in hindering
the progress of the women.
Therefore, from the words of Kagan (2018, p.127) it can be seen that in the Eastern
countries, the women population are considered as slaves to the men and thus, in the Arabian
regions, such treatment of the women are considered as disgraceful. Montagnini et al. (2017,
p.182) stated that this is particularly in accordance with the equality that is maintained in the
Western countries. Research have shown that in the Arab countries, the women population does
not have enough respect and that changing needs of the women need to be undertaken so that an
analysis of the social status of each of the women be understood. As observed by Stewart (2017,
p.44) women are subjected to the tyranny of men and thus, the position has not changed despite
making progress in the materialistic world.
2.3.3 Political sphere
The political factor that engulfs the Arabian region can be considered as subjective to the
labelling done by the Arab people. In the words of Schmid and Amodio (2017, p.218), one of the
political considerations that are to be taken into account is the fact that influence and acceptance
of the contemporary societies can be taken into consideration for the proper built up of
opportunities for the women. As stated by Rudrum and Stavris (2015, p.68) the approach
undertaken by the Government to help in the development of the women population can be
considered as an opportunity to improve their status. However, as stated by Czopp, Kay and
Cheryan (2015, p.451) one of the political disbandment of the women population that can be

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taken into consideration is the fact that deviation of the preaching of the Prophet or God are not
done.
Bordalo et al. (2017, p.1753) stated that despite the fact that the teachings and preaching
were done during the early years of the development of the world, the current Government of the
Arabian countries does not take into consideration any form of democracy that may hamper the
position of the women. Therefore, from the words of Duguid and Thomas-Hunt (2015, p.343) it
can be said that the political pressure provided by the Government is one of the main reasons for
the low status and position that the women folk hold in the Arabian society. Thus, from the
analysis, conclusion can be made about the importance of the political factors in the dominating
role of the men population in the Arabian countries.
2.3.4 Cultural sphere
The cultural difference between the men and women population in the Arabian countries
can be considered as another reason for the low status of the women. As stated by Master,
Cheryan and Meltzoff (2016, p.424) it has been seen that most of the men population is of the
belief that the role of the women are restricted only in the household. This is considered as one
of the reasons behind the cultural impediments that exist in the countries. In the words of Essig
(2015, p.227), the education among the women can be considered as low mainly because it does
not help to provide job opportunities for the women. In this regard, as pointed out by Crane,
Kawashima and Kawasaki (2016, p.20) the cultural position can be considered as one of the
sentiments brought about by the existence of religion so that proper positioning of the women’s
rights can be made. Thus, it can be said that the cultural factors that can be associated with the
men and women of the Arab culture is one of the most hindering factors that exist in the Arab

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region. Hence, the importance of art needs to be considered for identifying the scope that the
women of Arab have in breaking the stereotype.
2.4 The importance of art in breaking stereotype
Art is a cultural mechanism which reflects the realities as they are present in the society.
In other words, art is a mirror of the society and it shows to the world the various values and
believes that are ascribed by the people of a particular society of the globe. In this respect, a high
position is given to art within the cultural field as it becomes easier for the other people of the
society to understand the feelings and expression of the artists concerned. The form of art has not
always been the same. It has changed over the years, especially since the Age of Enlightenment.
The Age of Enlightenment is taken to be a watershed event which brought about significant
changes in the society and its values.
2.4.1 Before the Age of Enlightenment
The age of enlightenment changed various important factors pertaining to art and culture
that were present in the previous times. Art prior to the enlightenment age was limited to
religious themes and in popular art at the time there were very few references to everyday life.
This period can also be referred to as the late Middle Ages. The middle Ages in Europe is
traditionally referred to as the period between the 5th and the 15th Century (Carroll 2017, p.56).
This was a period marked by significant turmoil and rivalry between the Christian and Muslim
kingdoms. This was also the period in which the religious battles or Crusades were taking place
between the Christian empires and the Caliphate (Christie 2017, p.34). The disputes centered on
the control of the holy lands between Europe and Asia and the Middle East. In the primary stages
of the Middle Ages Art was much limited to the religious themes. It flourished none the less in
both the European and Islamic worlds. Lavish Churches and mosques were built with beautiful

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crafts and artistic designs (Hillenbrand 2019, p.33). Art was prevalent in both the interior
decorations and the architectural elements that formed intrinsic part of the religious monuments.
In the various phases of medieval art in Europe various art forms and architectures emerged.
These phases include, early Christian phase, Migration period art, and byzantine art,
Romanesque, Pre-Romanesque and Gothic Art. A tradition of iconography developed in Europe
(Nordenfalk 1985, p.45).
The fact of Art breaking stereotypes was indeed also seen in this period in both the then
Christian and Islamic worlds. In Europe the fusion of the pagan and Christian themes and styles
in Art can be presented as an example. At the same time the European and Islamic art interacted
with each other to form fusion art that was in many cases very different from the traditional
Christian Art that flourished in the mainstream (Rudolph 2019, p.46). Hence, the Islamic mosaic
form of art also came to be appreciated by the people of Europe. This fusion was further
developed due to the fact that a large portion of the southern Europe with Christian populations
were parts of Islamic empire (Blaydes, Grimmer and McQueen 2018, p.67). On the other hand
large Islamic populations were also ruled by the Christian Kingdoms. Concerning Islamic art,
this period was important for the development of Islamic Calligraphy. This was also a period of
significant scientific development in the Islamic world which had a marked influence on the
development of art and architecture. Glass paintings also became a popular art in the Islamic
world of this time. Islamic Art was influenced significantly by Roman and Byzantine art
(Luyster 2017, p.36). The prohibition of idolatry in Islam led to the development of Aniconism
in Islamic Art. An important aspect was the prevalence of secular art in the Islamic world. This
art was used to depict various stories alongside the everyday life in the Islamic world. Human
and animal forms depicted in this art was removed from the stereotypical form of mainstream

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Islamic art. However, due to religious restriction there was the development of stylized imagery
(Meri 2018, p.32). The important fact concerning art of this age in the Islamic world was the vast
stretch of art that was witnessed.
2.4.2 During The Age of Enlightenment
The age of enlightenment in Europe started from the Sixteenth century onwards. This
period was marked by the development of science, philosophy and knowledge. The old concepts
of science and philosophy were challenged by the development of newer scientific theories
(Mazzeo 2019, p.56). The primarily religious control over education and learning was replaced
by secular forms of studies. This also had its marked influence on Art primarily in Europe. The
Age of enlightenment was much connected with the development of newer forms of Art both in
terms of theme and style (Outram 2019, p.68). Art breaking stereotypes in this age was a very
important development that occurred. In art there was development of newer emphasis on the
learning of art and music. Public concerts began to be held and themes of art became more
secular in Europe. The entire age of enlightenment was a more away from the cultural and
religious stereotypes that were hence common in the Western world. Art in this time was a
search for morality that was previously not present in the art of Europe. A return back to the
ancient Roman and Greek cultures (Berger 2017, p.88). In the Islamic world however, the age of
enlightenment had limited influence. Hence, in the Islamic art of this period there was still
significant influence of Islamic symbolism.
The Mughals of India contributed significantly towards art of this time. There was an
increase in the representation of the royal houses in Islamic art of this period. This was an
important shift from the greatly religious themes that were prevalent in the times before this.
There were depiction of genealogy. According to Farhad and Rettig (2016, p76) this was a

26DISSERTATION
period where the Iranian Safavids and the Ottoman Empire greatly influenced the Islamic art.
Removed from the stereotypical presentation of the religious themes the royal courts became one
of the principle art themes of this period of Islamic art. However, it is still important to consider
that despite the fact that the religious themes were greatly removed at this period of time, there
were no significant presence of women artists that were documented. Women artists in the
Islamic world only began to emerge at the end of the 19th Century. In the Arab world there were
influences of the Persian and the Turk art forms (Corbett 2018, p.89). The depiction of women in
Arab art remained limited. However, at the same time the depiction of women became more than
it was in the previous periods. Mostly this was limited to the women of the royal courts of the
various dynasties. It is important to note that this was also a period where art styles, themes and
motifs were changing as per the changing times. The transformation is marked in Islamic art of
the time. In essence, it has to be considered that the art development of the period also
documented the historic changes that were taking place at this time (Hutton and Brown 2016,
p.91). This includes the changes in the Ottoman Empire, the Iranian sultanate and the
disintegration of power in the Arab states.
2.4.3 Present contemporary world
The present times have been very interesting in terms of Art development. This is
especially because the participation of women in Art has increased greatly. The participation of
women in art has also increased significantly. This has especially been true in a large part of the
Arab world. The 20th century Islamic art has been marked by modernization that was previously
never witnessed in the Islamic Art history (Necipoğlu 2015, p.45). In this sense the growth of
modern Islamic art has broken the stereotypes that were present before. The modern age of art
emerges from the mosaic art of the Maghreb region of Islamic North Africa. Starting from here

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the Islamic arts had undergone significant changes in all spheres, be it music, dance, theatre
architecture or paintings. In the beginning of the 20th century some women Muslim painters and
artists were very influential.
Umm Kulthum from Egypt was among the first most prominent Arab Muslim Artists.
She was born in the late 19th Century and became one of the most influential female Arab singers
of the early 20th Century Arab world (Grant 2016, p76). Later on by the middle of the 20th
century women artists and painters like Thuraya Al- Baqsami and Shurooq Amin became
prominent figures in Arab art (Jones 2017, p94). They depicted art from the perspectives of
Muslim and Arab women. The art created by Muslim artists, be it in the sphere of music or
painting greatly broke the stereotype of lack of representation of women in the artistic fields of
Islamic world. The current generation of Artists that rose to prominence from the 1970s are
Mona Hatoum from Lebanon, Iranian artist ShirinNeshat, Lamia Joreige from Lebanon
(Mahmoud 2019, p112). Some important contemporary artists are Emily Jacir from Palestine and
other important artists. These artists have not only broke the stereotypes to become some of the
most important artists in the modern Islamic world but at the same time dealt with themes that
are most important presently in the context of the Arab and Muslim world (Golkowska 2017,
p.44). An important fact to be noted was the growth of art exhibitions in the Middle Eastern
countries from the late 20th into the 21st Centuries. Arab women in the 20th and the 21st centuries
have had greater representations in the field if the various art forms than was present in any of
the other ages. It is important to note that this was mainly due to the better education that the
Arab women received in the 20th and the 21st centuries than they received prior to that (Grabar
2017, p.55). It is important to understand that the Arab women are voicing not only their own
opinions in breaking the cultural stereotypes but at the same time are also coming out with the

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various issues that the Arab world in facing in general. In the 21st Century the Arab women had
more presence in the various arts including music, dance, and sculpture and paining (Christensen
2018, p.33). The influence of the new age Arab artists in art and culture is very much significant.
2.5 The efforts made by the Arab women to break stereotypes
There are certain stereotypes which are present in the society in the Middle East region.
Efforts have been made by certain women artists of the Arab culture to break down such
stereotypes. In this respect, it first becomes essential to understand the various stereotypes that
are present in the Arab society before understanding how the Arab women are attempting to
break them down with the aid of the field of art.
2.5.1 Stereotypes present in the Arab region with regards to women
The women in the Arab region have faced issues in regards to representation in the
society. The stereotypes include their lack of rights and deplorable conditions. At the same time
the generalized view of the Arab woman is that of a lesser educated second class citizen with
very limited rights and roles in the society. The Arab woman is actually greatly stereotyped in
the western media (Nash 2017, p.55). This is also because of the cultural segregation that a large
part of the Arab women have historically faced. This has contributed to very negative
stereotypical image of Arab women. The Arab women stereotype is concerning the lower social
status of Arab women. Along with the same in the Arab region women are often thought to be
more appropriately functional in the four walls of the homes. In this consideration it is also seen
that a large number of Arab women do not get proper scope for education and learning (Cooke
2016, p.67). The women are seen to have very less roles in the society and their roles are often
limited to the relationships that they share with the men. Hence, there are perceived to be better
only in the roles of mothers, daughters, wives or aunts (Sinno and Smith 2016, p.66).

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There are significantly low representation of women in arts as it is at times considered to
be un-Islamic. Hence, in various Arab cultures there women artists are looked down upon in
society. This is the same with the women painters or musicians. Hence, pursuing art as a career
for women in the Arab world become very difficult. The Arabic states often strictly regulate the
various art from and further cause issues with the participation of women in the various art
forms. In the present times with the emergence of problematic relationship with the west, the
contemporary forms of art are often considered to be a bad western influence on the Arab society
(Alchalabi 2018, p.35). In this regards the participation of Arab women in contemporary art has
come under criticism in the society as emulating the western culture and seen in negative light.
2.5.2 Historical art work present within the Arab region
The art history of the Arab region is very vibrant and diverse. This ranges from the art of
the Maghreb region or the North-West African regions and the Middle Eastern Arab lands. Some
of the significant art that is present in the various Arab countries are concerning the architecture
that is seen in the various monuments, castles and palaces. As mentioned previously aniconism is
very popular throughout the Islamic world along with the Arab regions as the Islamic faith
prohibits idolatry. Throughout the history of art in the Arab region there is a strong presence of
calligraphy, geometric patterns, floral abstract figures and limited applications of figural designs.
It is important to consider that art in the Arab region were characterized by a simplistic nature of
representing the beauty of the world. Art in the Arab world flourished in the Islamic Golden Age.
In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Selijuks rose to power in the Arab world. This period until the
thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries saw the rise of ceramic art and the artistic creation of the
Damascus steel and beautifully designed weaponry. Later the Mamluks also created varied arts
in the region with the creation of lavish artistic monuments and castles. Baghdad and Damascus

30DISSERTATION
were the most important centers of Arab art in this period. The period marks the growth and
development of Art. The history of Islamic Spain and Iberian Peninsula region brings forward
more notable artistic works in the form of elegant potteries and embroideries. The mosaic culture
of the Maghreb Arab region were also significant in this regards (Sinno and Smith 2016). This
was also the period in which the religious battles or Crusades were taking place between the
Christian empires and the Caliphate. The disputes centered on the control of the holy lands
between Europe and Asia and the Middle East. In the primary stages of the Middle Ages Art was
much limited to the religious themes. Similarly, the depiction of the political themes of crusades
in many of the artistic aspects of this time are significant in determining the art history of the
region.
2.5.3 How Arab women seek to break stereotypes
The Arab women of today are more concerned about the stereotypical representation of
the Arabs in the western world. After the worldwide outbreak of terrorism there were significant
shifts in the perception of Arab countries and the women of these places. The Arab women were
represented in western media as vulnerable and without any basic rights (Roiget al. 2016). The
Arab women artists of today are focused towards creating a better image of both the Islamic
culture and the women of these culture. The Arab women are more vocal in their works and
fighting against both the stereotypical notions of the Arab and the Islamic world about women as
well as the western world (Uscpublicdiplomacy.org 2019). It is important to note that the Arab
women are voicing their concerns against the issues that are greatly affecting both the Arab and
the Islamic world. This include the war in Iraq and Syria, the Palestinian cause, the civil war
situation in many Middle-eastern countries and the constant intervention of the west in the
politics of the Middle East (Cooke 2016).

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However, at the same time there is significant amount of regulation and control of the art
that is produced. At times women artists have faced ban due to religious reasons. The cultural
stereotypes are however being broken due to the fact that a large number of women are
participating in Art and culture (Marnin-Distelfeld 2018). Many Arab women have emerged in
the contemporary artistic fields of the Arab nations. The participation of women in art is growing
in the Arab countries.
2.6 The role played by art in breaking stereotypes present in the Arab world
It has been seen from the analysis that women in the Arab region are subjected to various
stereotypes and hold a vulnerable position in the society. According to Alawad et al. (2015,
p.87), the status of the womenfolk have been a constant low in these regions and despite the
advent of technologies and turn of the century for the betterment of human life, women have not
been able to gain the deserved respect that can help in uplifting their status in the market. In this
regard, from the words of Bilewicz and Sedek (2015, p.21) it can be said that certain efforts had
been made by popular female artists to uplift the condition of the women and make them be
involved in arts.
Carli et al. (2016, p.244) stated that the efforts made by these women can help in the
development of the status of the local women. According to Fiske (2016, p.32), these female
artists had managed to challenge the stereotypes and the position held by the women in the
society by the creation of a more subversive, imaginative as well as innovative art to portray the
lives of the women and challenge the dominance of men in these countries. As stated by
Hamilton (2015, p.90) some of the notable female artists that have contributed towards women
empowerment and breaking of stereotypes include:
1. Shirin Neshat (Iran)

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Shirin Neshat is an Iranian mixed medium artist. She is involved in the utilisation of film
and photography so that comment can be made about the issues related to various social evils
such as that with femininity, gender, violence and religion in Iran. According to Helland (2018,
p.44), the work contributed by Shirin Neshat is famous for the visual contrasts that are provided
such as the use of black and white, light and dark. These were usually used as tools required for
making political statements and are considered as an abstract form of art in the process.
In this regard, Wang et al. (2017, p.75) stated that some of the well-known works of
Shirin Neshat includes The Women of Allah series ranging from 1993-1997. The series depicts
the female portraits with covered faces with that of the Farsi texts. Two female poets of Iran
handwrote these. As critiqued by Williams, Sng and Neuberg (2016, p.2016) the premise of the
series is that it reflects the reaction of Shirin Neshat towards the post-revolutionary period in
Iran. The series is the aftermath after returning to Iran having spent time abroad.
2. Mona Hatoum (Palestine and Lebanon)
The experience gained as a displaced Palestinian forms the inspiration behind the works
of Mona Hatoum. Her art is spread across Palestine as well as Lebanon and the application of
any movement related to art can be considered as influential for the development of art. For
example, it has been seen that Mona Hatoum applies the use of performance videos as well as the
discussion of themes, which can be related to the nomadic lifestyle. As observed by Grau and
Zotos (2016, p.761) her works include travelling, developing cultural competence as well as
movement of the people. The works undertaken by her are more towards the academic
perspective.

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Some of her works that can be considered as food for thoughts include Slicer, released in
1999, Paravent, released in the year 2008 and Daybed, launched in the year 2008. According to
Irwin (2017, p.76), these works are beyond the proportion utensils of art and can be considered
as objects so that questions can be raised about its relationship with the society. It provides
opportunities for utilising the shared spaces along with the belief of captivity with freedom.
3. Emily Jacir (Palestine)
The influence of Emily Jacir can be considered as being deeply involved with the
political artists that utilises various combinations such as that of audio-visual media. This had
helped in advocating of the Palestinian rights. Forscher et al. (2015, p.791) is of the opinion that
one of the most notable works of Emily Jacir includes Memorial to 418 Palestinian Villages,
which were Destroyed, Depopulated and Occupied by Israel in 1948, written in 2001. The work
deals with the tent for refugees on which 140 people that includes Palestinians and Israelis had to
sew their names from being destroyed in the Palestinian villages.
At the same time, as observed by Koch, D'Mello and Sackett (2015, p.128) another
subversive piece of work that deals with the aesthetic portrayal of the Palestinians includes Sexy
Semite, released sometime in the period of 2000-2002. As pointed out by Mayer (2018, p.88)
one of the achievements of Jacir that can be considered an inspiration for women includes being
awarded with the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2007. The reward was presented for her
work Material for a film in 2005. According to Reeves (2017, p.43), the story is of the work on
the reasons behind the assassination of the Palestinian writer WaelZuaiter by the agents of Rome,
Mossad in 1972.
4. Manal Al Dowayan (Saudi Arabia)

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The inspiration provided by Manal Al Dowayanca can be considered as one of the most
important works for developing the women population in the country. The fact that the
application of the experience of the women is considered as an inspiration for Manal Al
Dowayan can be an effective factor. Manal Al Dowayan is known for the use of a mixture of
photography various installations along with textiles, paints and lights. According to Payne
Vuletich and Lundberg (2017, p.233), this can help in the creation of complex as well layered
pieces of art so that the abstract emotion of the people can be analysed.
One of the political piece of work is the photographic series I AM, released in 2007. The
series was created by Manal Al Dowayanca to provide support to the speech delivered by King
Abdulla Al Saud’s about the importance held by the women and their participation in everyday
life. As stated by Rich and Tsitsos (2018, p.524) another important contribution made by Manal
Al Dowayanca is that of the art of Suspended Together in 2011. The art consists of 200
fibreglass doves. It provides permission to travel along with printed documents on the bodies.
This is a symbol of the requirement of permission of women of Saudi Arabia before providing
allowances for travel.
5. Boushra Almutawakel (Yemen)
The contribution made by Boushra Almutawakel is to understand the obsession of the
Western world with the veil worn by the Middle Eastern women particularly after the terror of
9/11. The aim with which Boushra Almutawakel has approached the issue suggests challenges to
the stereotypes involving the use of the veil. As seen by Perkins (2018, p.135) in the Middle East
and other Muslim countries the veil regarded as a symbol of oppression or for hiding the beauty.
Her work provides women to be more than stereotypes.

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As praised by Siy and Cheryan (2016, p.941) her work helps in reflecting the real life
experience that is considered with the covering of the body. This includes hindrances from
gaining freedom, possessing power as well as failure to abide by the culture and protection of the
women. As observed by Thomas (2017, p.156) the form of art used by Boushra Almutawakel is
the abstract expression as is evidenced from the use of dolls for representing the Muslim women.
Such representation is portrayed in the series, which features Fulla, a Muslim veil wearing
Barbie doll.
6. Shadi Ghadirian (Iran)
Shadi Ghadirian is a famous Iranian photographer with works pointing to the
commentary on the lives led by the Iranian women in a male dominant society. According to
Azmat and Rentschler (2017, p.317), one of her photographic series, Like Everyday, consists of
featured images that represent the women with the household objects acting as veils to cover
their faces. As stated by Bodenhausen, Macrae and Sherman (2016, p.33) the display of the
objects indicate the ridiculousness manner in which men try to convert the housewives into one-
dimensional humans instead of accepting the fact about the similar level of complexity and
interest as possessed by the men. In the words of Aberson (2015, p.743), Shadi Ghadirian also
helps in exploring any anxiety that is developed due to the constant threat related to war. This is
depicted in the series Nil Nil, in which the treatment of weapons as domestic objects are
highlighted.
7. Shadia and Raja Alem (Saudi Arabia)
Sisters Shadia and Raja Alem have combined their talents to portray complexity in the
visual art and writing so that critical comments on globalisation can be made. According to Fiske

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(2017, p.791), the achievement earned by the sisters includes being the first artists to have
represented Saudi Arabia at its maiden Venice Biennale pavilion in 2011. The work
undertaken in the form of The Black Arch, helped in the exploration of the significance related to
the black colour in the Saudi Arabian culture.
According to Haines, Deaux and Lofaro (2016, p.353), the constant presence in the
dresses worn by the Saudi Arabian people had been justified by the sisters. The work undertaken
by the Alem sisters also helped in developing a connection between Mecca and Venice. As stated
by Allen (2019, p.777) this was done developing a relationship between the sounds made by the
pilgrims with the sound made by the seagulls. This form of art includes an action painting in
which dialogues between the East and West are populated.
8. Lamia Joreige (Lebanon)
Lamia Joreige utilises art and film to make exploration about the importance of memory
so that remembrance of the historical events like the Lebanese war can be made. Lamia Joreige
applies archived documents as well as fiction related with the historical accounts so that she can
tell stories that belong together so that an examination of the impossible existence of full recount
and reconcile with the past can be made. As pointed out by Ahmad (2019, p.46) her film Here
and Perhaps Elsewhere released in 2003 helps in following her journey as well as personal
encounters along the invisible Green Line of Beirut.
This was the reason for the division of the city between East and West. At the same time, as
stated by Mackie and Smith (2016, p.2016) the series of photographs taken by Lamia Joreige in
2007 titled Night and Days provides records about the experiences gained from war along with
the physical and psychological effects that it provides in the place and among the people.

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2.7 Summary
To summarize, this chapter tries to understand the various opinions and points of view as
put forward by the different scholars and authors with regard to the objective of the research
paper. The purpose of this paper is to understand bout the concept of stereotypes and how the
Arab women are seeking to break such stereotypes with the aid of art work. In this context, the
secondary sources of books, academic papers and articles have been consulted in order to get a
wider perspective on the issue.

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Chapter 3: Research Methodology
3.0 Over view
This chapter tries to provide an understanding in to the various methods which have been
utilized in the course of the research work. The aim of the research is to understand the life and
work of the leading women artists within the Arab culture with particular reference to Shurooq
Amin and Manal Al Dawaiyan and to analyze the extent of her work in breaking the stereotypes
present within the Arabian culture. The chapter also provides an insight in to the various ethical
considerations and the accessibility issues faced by the researcher during the conduction of the
research.
3.1 Research Outline
The research philosophy of positivism is followed in conducting this research along with
an approach of deductive research and descriptive design of research. However, in order to
source information the research uses data sources that are secondary which is further observed in
regards to the analysis technique of qualitative research (Kumar, 2019, p44). This enables the
researcher in gaining a subjective view under investigation for the research study. The research
revolves around understanding the work and life of leading and emerging women artist of the
Arabic culture who have chosen the form of art to break gender inequalities and stereotypes.
They are pushing every boundary that was enforced on them and at the same time succeeding as
well doing what the politicians have failed to do.
3.2 Research Philosophy
As per Padilla-Diaz (2015, p.101) generally, the area of research consists of the three
diverse type of philosophy used in research. They are positivism, pragmatism and

39DISSERTATION
interpretivisim. In the research philosophy of interpretivism, the diverse differences are required
to be understand by the researcher, which exists between human beings naturally while they
work and live within the configuration of the society where human beings resides (Antwi and
Hamza, 2015, p.217). On the other hand, the research philosophy of pragmatism is a bit
complicated which makes it difficult to be used in constructing any kind of research structure
(Parvaiz, Mufti and Wahab, 2016, p.67). Whereas, the research philosophy of positivism looks
for understanding the study of research to be conducted under investigation that happens in a
statistical manner (Joslin and Muller, 2016, p.1043). Rationality and logic are highly used in
these philosophy of research that is required very much to reach a conclusion.
3.2.1 Application of research philosophy
In order to conduct this study of research, the research philosophy of positivism has been
used. This makes it clear fact that there is a requirement for understanding the role of women in a
systematic manner and the change they are trying to bring by breaking stereotypes thorough
artwork in the Middle Eastern areas (Lawson, 2019, p.19). This results in using of some
undeniable statistical data that needs to get interrupted in a rational manner and as well as logical
manner. This leads to a consequence that the using of positivism philosophy if research has been
turned out to be an essential step in effective execution of this conducted research study.
3.3 Research Approach
Inductive approach of research and deductive approach of research happens to be the two
diverse research approach type that are utilized in making or conducting any sort of research
study. The deductive approach of research refers to situations where a hypothesis of pre-existing
statement is present, which is further attempted to get proven with aid to some already existing
theories and concepts by the researcher (Gaur and Kumar, 2018, p.280). However, on the other

40DISSERTATION
hand the inductive approach of research refers to situations where no hypothetical pre-existing
statement present in the study of research (Woo, O’Boyle and Spector, 2017, p.22). New
concepts and theories are created by the researcher here in order to justify their own work.
3.3.1 Application of research approach
For conducting this research study, the investigation has hired using of the deductive
approach of research. This has made the researcher able to comprehend the various concepts and
theories that have been in need to utilize the execution of this research paper efficiently.
Furthermore, an existing aim of research was already there that was provided in research. This
research aims in comprehending the insinuation of the role of women played in breaking the
stereotype of Arab culture through art and how they have addressed issues relating to gender and
stereotypes which the politicians have both failed to acknowledged and succeed at the same time.
The women have been supressed and treated unequally against their male counterparts
throughout their life. The stereotyped done on them was looked upon as something very normal
and they were deprived of rights that the women in other countries enjoyed. Through art, the
women are breaking through and breaking the stereotypes which the politicians have failed to
acknowledge. The research will be done methodically considering the deductive approach of
research as it tends to work harmoniously within utilization of the positive philosophy of
research.
3.4 Research Design
To make an efficacious study of research, three types of research designs are considered.
They are known as descriptive design of research, exploratory design of design, and explanatory
design of research. The Explanatory design of research seeks explaining the different reasons and
causes of a specific incident to be studied under investigation (Rahi, 2017, p.5). On the other

41DISSERTATION
hand, the exploratory design of research tries explain the specific incident under investigation
without even seeking to provide particular implication or reason of that incident on human
society (Ponelis, 2015, p.535). Descriptive design of research is a combination of above
mentioned types of research design.
3.4.1 Application for research design
In this study of research, the descriptive design of research have been used. In other
quarters, the researcher tries to comprehend the different aspects for the women breaking
stereotypes in Arab thorough the medium of art. Furthermore, the researcher also tries to
comprehend the roles played by women and how their art has helped sending out the messages
that evoked their own breakthrough and breaking the stereotype attitude of society towards
women. The stereotyped done on them was looked upon as something very normal and they
were deprived of rights that the women in other countries enjoyed. The women artist played an
important role in breaking the stereotype of Arab culture through art and how they have
addressed issues relating to gender and stereotypes which the politicians have both failed to
acknowledged and succeed at the same time is the main concern the researcher needs to address.
As an effective outcome, using of the descriptive design of research here happens to be the most
suitable way for conducting this research.
3.5 Research Strategy
The different sorts of strategies for research that are used as a guidance I conducting the
research for study consists of case study, interviews, strategy of survey research and strategy of
action research. Under the strategy of interview method, the researcher goes to people and gather
data from them using a questionnaire formed according to the matter of subject of the research.
The questionnaire has definite questions whose answers needs to be filled by the individuals who

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are chosen by the researcher (Bryman, 2017, p.57). The strategy of case study tries considering
one or more than those specific cases whose outcomes are to be gathered and generalized to fit
study of the research under process (Duff, 2018, p.66). The strategy of action research refers to a
situation where an attempt is made by the researcher for applying all the real life events for
conducting the research (Blien, Ozel and Kose, 2016, p.72). Last but not the least, the survey
strategy of research is a strategy that is a bit similar to the strategy of interview. Under this
strategy of survey, the researcher takes an attempt to gain convincing opinions of human about
the specific incident or event under investigation of the research in order to get real feedback
which will be considered in conducting the research (Jarzabkowski et al. 2016, p.248).
3.5.1 Application of research strategy
In conducting this research, the research strategy of interview has been applied to
continue the research. The aim of this research is to understand the imputation of Arabic women
towards changing the stereotype faced by them in the society and how they are breaking them
through art. The women have been supressed and treated unequally against their male
counterparts throughout their life. The stereotyped done on them was looked upon as something
very normal and they were deprived of rights that the women in other countries enjoyed.
Through art, the women are breaking through and breaking the stereotypes which the politicians
have failed to acknowledge. As an outcome, the researcher took an attempt in understanding the
problem faced by the women in regards to gender and other stereotype that are present in the
society that suppressed them and their rights. They were devoid of opportunities against their
male counterparts that the women of other foreign countries enjoyed but they could not because
of the stereotypes. The researcher chose few of the artist belonging to the Arab culture and
studied their work in detail taking the help of diverse literature review sources.

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3.6 Data collection process
In conducting a study of research, there are two kinds of process for data collection that
are used. One is the process of primary collection of data and the other is the process of
secondary collection of data. Under the process of primary collection of data, the research paper
attempts in collection of data from people themselves. Such kind of data have not been posted
previously in any other literature review form and happens to be the first of its kind. The process
of secondary collection of data refers to data collection from different literature review sources
like academic articles, books, newspaper articles, journals and so on (Brannen, 2017, p.37).
3.6.1 Application of data collection process
In this particular study of research, the process of secondary collection of data have been
used. As an outcome, the diverse literary sources like those of academic articles, books, journals,
and newspapers have been used. In regards to that the researcher attempted to find women who
played an important role in breaking the stereotype of Arab culture through art and how they
have addressed issues relating to gender and stereotypes which the politicians have both failed to
acknowledged and succeed at the same time. The women have been supressed and treated
unequally against their male counterparts throughout their life. The stereotyped done on them
was looked upon as something very normal and they were deprived of rights that the women in
other countries enjoyed. Through art, the women are breaking through and breaking the
stereotypes which the politicians have failed to acknowledge. Various sources of literature have
been used to find out relevant data that are required for executing this research.
3.7 Data analysis technique
For analysing the data, there are two diverse techniques. They are the technique of
qualitative data analysis and the technique of quantitative data analysis. Under the technique of

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qualitative data analysis, the researcher tends to make analysis of a chosen subject and the data
provided in while investigating the study of research. In this manner, there is in-depth analysis of
collected data that every different sort of implications and issues are considered. Whereas, the
technique of quantitative data analysis demands comprehending the collected data from objective
perspective. The researcher utilizes the various figures and facts for reaching to a conclusion of
the research. There is blank in-depth data analysis from a subjective point of view (Neale, 2016,
p.1096).
3.7.1 Justification of data analysis technique
In conducting this study of research, the technique of quantitative data analysis have been
used. In other quarter, the researched has attempted to find an analysis that is detailed and
various reasons talking about the stereotypes faced by women in the Arabic culture and how they
are using art as a medium for breaking those stereotypes. Furthermore, there has been an attempt
made by the researcher to find out the problems face by women living in Arabic culture and what
kind of stereotypes they had to face. In this way, the researcher figures out and comprehends the
implications art as medium in breaking the stereotypes faced by women and how they had to
undergo all of it in their journey of breaking through and breaking the stereotypes through art.
3.8 Ethical Issues
The different ethical issues that were faced while conducting this study of research are
that the researcher tried the best possible way to ensure the transparency and honesty of the data
that were considered while collecting information and the prior permission were taken from the
artists for conducting an interview with them and they had the permission to leave at any point of
time. No manipulation was used by the researcher while conducting the interviews and all the
information were made sure to be relevant.

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3.9 Accessibility Issues
The various sort of accessibility issues that were encountered by the researcher were
limited amount of time and money. Due to the limited amount of time, the researcher could not
interview more people. This proved to limit the scope of the research as only those artists could
be interviewed belonging to the region of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, another
limitation that was faced by the research was with respect to the limited amount of money. Due
to shortage of the monetary resources, the researcher had to limit the scope of the research in the
field of art and how successful it was to break the stereotype present in the society. Every society
in the world is stereotyped which are sought to be broken by the members of the concerned
community with the aid of various fields of human activity. In the context of this research, the
role played by the Arab women in breaking such stereotypes present in their society, with the
help of art, was considered.
3.10 Summary
To summarize, this chapter gives a detailed insight in to the various methods and the
methodologies which have been adhered to in the course of this research. In this regard, the
researcher is seen to have used the positivism research philosophy, deductive research approach
and descriptive research design. The researcher has been able to collect the data needed through
the conduction of the process of interview. The data gathered has further been analyzed with the
aid of qualitative data analysis technique which has provided a comprehensive and an in-depth
understanding of the research topic at hand.

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Chapter 4: Data Findings
4.0 Over view
This chapter looks in to the various information gathered with regard to the purpose of
the dissertation. The aim of this dissertation is to understand how the different women of the
Arab region are breaking their stereotypes with the aid and support of their art work. In this
regard, interviews have been conducted with two of the most prominent and renowned artists of
the Middle East region, such as that of Shurooq Amin of Kuwait and Manal Al Dowaiyan of
Saudi Arabia. These interviews provide a deep insight in to the work done by the two women in
their concerted efforts to break the stereotypes present in the world, particularly in their native
place in the context of the entire women population.
4.1 Interview with Shurooq Amin
Shurooq Amin is considered to be one of the most renowned artist to be present in the
Arab world. Her mother was Syrian while her father belonged to the country of Kuwait.
Although belonging to two different countries within the Arab world, the cultures and values
which were imparted to Shurooq Amin were of the same. She was brought up to believe the
various dictates of the Quran and of the Islamic faith. The low socio-economic condition of the
women in the region, compelled Shurooq Amin to participate in the mixed-media discipline,
seeking to break these stereotypes with the aid of her art work.
An interview was conducted by the Arab Times with Shurooq Amin. In the interview
conducted by her, the researcher asked her to explain the prevailing social status and position of
the women as prevailing within the region of Arab. In response, Amin answered that the women
within this part of the world are heavily dominated by their male counterparts. Within every

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sphere of activity, the patriarchal system was present such as the political institution of the state
and especially within the private household. Thus, it was not surprising to notice a solidarity of
the Arab women in the present world to break through such stereotypes.
On being asked the question to define who “Shurooq Amin” was, she replied that she was
a teacher, a poet, a mother, an artist, a writer, a thought leader as well as an activist. However,
from an existential point of view, she was nothing. It was not a simple question to answer
because she found herself to be constantly on the path of evolution and developing her own true
self. Her art work and her journey through life made her learn a lot about her abilities.
Art organically became one of the most significant features of her life. She did not plan
on becoming an artist as such. Her father supported in her journey to become an artist whereby
he even went to the National Council to get her drawings featured. The National Council then
invited her to be a part of a group show and it was during this time that she actively participated
in her very first public group show. She never studied art in m=its formal manner. She drew
inspirations from Picasso, Leonardo Da Vinci, Van Gogh and Monet to improve upon her
technical skills. This shows her commitment to the field of art.
Shurooq Amin pursued art and wanted to join an art school for her college. However, her
mother would not allow her to leave Kuwait. During those times, the women gender were not
encouraged to pursue higher education and as a result of this, Shurooq Amin found it quite
difficult to enroll herself within an art course work for Bachelor’s Degree. As a result, she
pursued poetry and literature for her Bachelor’s Degree. She received a scholarship to pursue
her higher education in England where she discovered Ekphrasis. Ekphrasis refers to the relation
between the fields of poetry and art. This highly inspired Shurooq Amin as poetry revealed to her

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the horrors present in the society with respect to the status of women within the Arab region and
art gave her a medium to express herself and her agitation towards this aspect of the society.
Shurooq Amin admitted that her life changed enormously after the “Society Girls” in
2009. The “Society Girl” expressed the lives of the women known as ‘khaleeji’ who lived behind
doors. This was symbolic in nature because during those times, Shurooq Amin was going
through a personal dilemma regarding her divorce. She related herself to the pain felt by the
‘khaleeji’. Shurooq Amin used to repress her feelings for over a long period of time, it affected
her health. As soon as she recovered, she decided to express her feelings for the improvement of
the society as well as her own health. In this manner, she decided to immerse herself in the world
of art work.
Source: (Pinterest, 2009)
The researcher asked her the question as to from where she draws her inspiration in art.
She replied that the world itself gives her inspiration. When she observes a particular
phenomenon in the broader society which adversely impacts the way of life of the individuals,

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the questions that forms in her mind, take the shape of a painting or art work. One of the
instances that greatly perturbed her was that in an airport, she saw a mother and a daughter being
completely covered in veil. However, her two sons wear in shorts. This gender discrimination
even in the age of the twenty firs century made her question the prevalence of such
discriminatory activities in the society. This inspired her to paint an art work which would help
to express her agitation.
Shurooq Amin faced a lot of social stigma and political back lash for one of her
exhibition in the year 2012, which was titled “It’s a Man’s World”. The exhibition was crashed
by five people belonging to the secret service who locked down the gallery and took down all the
painting s from the walls of the gallery. The investigation that followed lasted for several months
where she was treated as a criminal and a traitor. During this time, she faced immense pressure
from the society who ostracized her and masked her paintings with the color black as a sign of
disrespect for her and all the work that she did. Even her own family were harangued as a result
of her expression against gender discrimination as prevailing in the society.

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Source:(Bekhrad, 2012)
It was during this time that her daughter came to be one of her greatest supporters. She
encouraged Shurooq Amin to carry forward and even made her aware of all the love and support
she was receiving from other parts of the world such as China and Afghanistan. She tried to do a
series on the freedom of speech and expression and named it ‘popcornographic’, a term given by
her own daughter. It was mainly against the viewing of pornography in the society but the male
counterparts of the community could not instigate any agitation against her because of the
changes in terminologies.
The authorities reacted quite aggressively in response to the work done by Shurooq Amin
in terms of her art work and the activities and programs conducted by her in trying to protest
against the evils present in the society. The region of Middle East has had many artists and
writers who tried to push the boundaries of the society in response to the prevailing societal
issues of the community which put the women at a subordinate position in the society. However,

51DISSERTATION
when it came to Shurooq Amin, she spoke out against such evils is a blatant manner. In this
regard, she sought to expand her work activity by working in the museums as well.
The researcher asked her views on the concept of feminism. According to Shurooq Amin,
being a feminist means that the women gender have the right to choose and the right to decide on
their course of life. When an individual decides to have her own freedom, this situation refers to
feminism.
Shurooq Amin admitted that her art work has a significant bearing on the field of
activism. However, she drew a distinction on the stereotypical way of defining activism and the
way she participates in her field of work. According to her, she goes around and talks to the
concerned people, tries to understand the various places where they face issues and attempts to
bring about changes in those field of activities. For Amin, activism is not about going out to the
world and rebelling. Rather, activism is a lifestyle; it is something that people do on a regular
basis, trying to bring about changes in the society in the context of improving the society.
Shurooq Amin opined that in the future, she would like to see her art work in the
museum. In this manner, she would be able to reach out more to the concerned people. This is
needed in the context of the Arab world because majority of the discriminations and social evils
present in the society is a result of their ignorance. They need to be made aware of such presence
and the need to reform them for the betterment of their own lives. Shurooq Amin is of the idea
that the aspect of being tolerant towards the various religions of the world is a necessity. The
differing cultural values and the habits of the people should be accepted for the individuals to
live a peaceful and happy life. This would help them to put their life in perspective as they would
learn that the entire world is negligible in the face of the larger universe. The human beings are
nothing in the face of it and hence, they should try to remain humble throughout their life. Living

52DISSERTATION
a life of gratitude is far more desirable than living a life with hostility and conflict. In this
respect, Shurooq Amin was observed to be desirous of being a better individual as this would aid
her to become a far better artist.
Considered to be a pioneer of feminist art within the region of Kuwait, Shurooq Amin s
known for creating many ground breaking and inspirational paintings that seek to challenge the
various cultural and traditional norms present within the region of the Middle East. These
challenges are with regard to the spheres of class, religion, gender, truth and sexuality. The
actions and measures undertaken by Shurooq Amin often engaged her with court activities as it
angered the other people of the society, mainly her male counter parts. However, she did not pay
any heed to them and instead, she tried her best to fight against the prevailing injustices in the
society which are faced by the women folk. She used her medium of art to do so. Her art work
compels the viewers to visualize the atrocities that the Arab women face in their lives since birth.
These injustices are present in both the spheres of personal and political. During the initial days
of her career, Shurooq Amin tried to analyze and examine the various taboos that are present in
the Arab society with respect to the women folk.. She tried to stretch the boundaries as much as
possible through her art work. Her journey is ridden with the problems of her ill health, her
divorce, the responsibility of being a single mother as well many of her art exhibitions being shut
down as a result of the emboldened steps it sought to undertake in the context of challenging the
values and beliefs of the society. In many ways, her life is emblematic of Frida Kahlo’s famous
quote, “At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.” In the present
time period, Shurooq Amin is considered to be one of the most famous and courageous and
inspirational artists of all times within the Arab region. She was the first female artists who held
an exhibition in the Venice Biennale. She is also the first female artists to feature a talk on the

53DISSERTATION
BBC’s Hard Talk show and the first artists of Kuwait to have sold her work by Christi’s auction
house. She is also the first artist of Kuwait to have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize in
Poetry in the United States of America.
4.2 Interview with Manal Al Dowaiyan
Manal Al Dowaiyan is a contemporary artist belonging to the region of Saudi Arabia.
Born in the year of 1197, she has shown excellence in the field of art. Her pieces of art work has
sought to challenge the various social evils which are present in the Arab society during the
present age. In this context, an interview was conducted with her to understand her views on her
art work and how she sought to break the stereotypes present in the Arab world in the twenty
first century.
In the interview conducted with her, a question was asked to her as to how vibrant the
artistic culture was in the region of Saudi Arabia and where would she put the Saudi women in
this context. Manal Al Dowaiyan replied that the artistic culture was extremely vibrant within the
region of Saudi Arabia and that it included within itself the various forms of modern craft and
art, music, dance and that of theatre. In the earlier times, all of these field of art work existed
within the scope of strict religious doctrines. However, in the modern contemporary world, such
art forms and their expression have found a strong foot hold within the region of Saudi Arabia.
The field of art is now observed to be funded by the government of the country itself. This is due
to the fact that art and culture is a reflection of the realities existing in the society and hence, it
contains within itself an idea of the community and the religious ascriptions of the individual of
such a society.
According to Manal Al Dowaiyan, the women of Saudi Arabia are extremely closely
related with the various forms of art work because of the liberal spirit which is imbibed within it.

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Being a country of Islamic faith, initially there existed various limitations on the society and the
position it accorded to its women. However, Saudi Arabia has always been a country which tried
its best to prevent any segregation being made between its two genders. However, certain
discriminations always existed such as during the reading of poetry sessions, the women folk
were made to sit separated from the male gender. However, in spite of the presence of a wall of
some material elements between the two genders, the culture of the community was such that it
provided an equal opportunity to both the genders to enjoy the rich cultural heritage of the
society.
Another point of departure of Saudi Arabia from the remaining countries of the region is
that it does not discriminate against the artists on the basis of their gender orientation. The artists
are seen in the context of their success and achievement. The auction houses are found to be
selling the work of the female artists more than the work of the male artists. This shows that
Saudi Arabia is more concerned with the maintenance of their rich cultural heritage rather than
clinging on to its age old practice of gender discrimination based on religious doctrines.
In the words of Manal Al Dowaiyan, Saudi women are observed to be pioneers within the
context of the modern art movement. The first exhibition of the country was arranged by two
women artists of the country that is MuniraMorsli and SafiaBenzagir. The major problem that
the women artists faced was that they could not find a place to conduct their exhibition in. They
did not have any access to any galleries or any kind of museums. Finally, they could find a place
to conduct their exhibition which was inside a girl’s school. Individuals belonging to both the
genders attended this exhibition and was highly appreciated by them. In this context, it can be
examined that the segregation within the community on the basis of gender existed in the spheres
of social, political and economic, but not within the creative community of culture and art.

55DISSERTATION
Manal Al Dowaiyan was of the opinion that the Saudi women were not exclusively
attracted to the field of painting only because during the rise of the artistic movement, there were
activities of weaving, photography and collage. As a result, the women of Saudi Arabia worked
on various kinds of media.
Source: (al.arte.magazine, 2019)
The name of this photo is “I am”. Through this photo, Manal Al Dowaiyan tried to show
the women of Saudi Arabia to belong to various professions such as those of engineers, doctors
and architects. This shows the desire of the artists for the women folk to become in charge of
their own lives and to take part in professional activities.
In the words of Manal Al Dowaiyan, she did not find it quite difficult to be involved
within the field of art. It was mainly her journey through life which inspired her to be involved
with this field of work. Her parents were supportive of her decision to be involved with art work.
She was never enticed with technology because she was not comfortable with the medium of

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digital technology. In this regard she was more comfortable with the concept of dark room
painting as it did not include within itself only the ideas of photography but also the various
processes such as developing the film and the making of the photograph. Her first exhibition was
in the region of Spain were she received many accolades. She even managed to get the
photographs exhibited in Spain to get passed in Saudi Arabia were the common public were
highly appreciated of her creative style of art work. This exhibition was titled as the “Common
Ground” and was sponsored by the institution of the British Council. This exhibition also
received a wide spread support from the other countries of the region, especially by the media
houses.
The researcher asked her if she was involved with certain acts of activism and how much
did her art work aid her in such activities. Manal Al Dowaiyan replied that she did not consider
herself as an activist because she believed that activism refers to that specie of public work
where the various individuals are more physically active and participative at the ground level.
She was highly afraid to be actively involved in such bouts of work and therefore, decided to
work from the back drop. She therefore continues to live within a sphere of creativity.

57DISSERTATION
Source: (al.arte.magazine, 2019)
This project represents an activity where the women of Saudi Arabia of all ages, were
asked to write their name down in the beads. The beads then were strung together to show break
the taboo of the male gender against speaking the name of their female counter parts.
The researcher asked her if she thought that the women of Saudi Arabia have been using
her art work as a platform to address the various issues which poses as social injustices. To this,
Manal Al Dowaiyan replied that it was not the other women of the society, but rather herself who
has used the platform of art and culture to fight against the various social evils and injustices
which prevail in the larger context of the society. She also stated that the people of the society,
particularly the women folk never really understood the broader implications of art work. They
were simply attracted to the idea of being involved in a space that spoke up against the injustices
that existed in the society.
The work of Manal Al Dowaiyan has been received in high regard within the region of
Saudi Arabia as well as in many parts of the world such as that of Africa, South Asia and East

58DISSERTATION
Asia. The field of art has been used for a long period of time, by different artists to break the
stereotypes that are present in the society. The idea that the rest of the world has with regard to
the way a Saudi women dresses, is completely different from the reality. Furthermore, many
people have asked Manal Al Dowaiyan how she speaks the English language so well as there is a
perceived notion that the people belonging to the region of Middle East are extremely orthodox
with regard to their studies, especially the women folk. In this context, the activities done by
Manal Al Dowaiyan in her life time and her art work are attempting to break all the barriers
present in the society of Saudi Arabia.
4.3 Summary
To summarize, this chapter examines in detail all the data received from the various
artists belonging to the Arab culture. The main purpose of this dissertation is to understand the
concept of stereotype and how the Arab women are breaking such stereotypes with their art
work. In this regard, interviews have been conducted with several well-known artists belonging
to this region in order to understand their point of view in the field of art work. Furthermore, the
opinions of the artists about their own cultural heritage, the place they belong to, have all been
shown in this chapter. The main objective was to show how the art work aids to break the
stereotypes that are present in the society, with particular reference to the artist of the region.

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Chapter 5: Data Analysis
5.0 Over view
This chapter seeks to provide a detailed explanation of the information which has been
gathered in the earlier chapter. The interviews conducted with the two artists of Shurooq Amin
and that of Manal Al Dowaiyan has been effectively referenced with that of the information
collected in the chapter of literature review. This has provided the researcher with the advantage
of being able to understand the objective of the research in a better manner. The main purpose of
the research is to understand how the Arab women such as that of Shurooq Amin and Manal Al
Dowaiyan has been able to break the stereotypes present in the society with the aid of their art
work.
5.1 Theme 1: Stereotypes present in the Arab society
In the interview conducted by Shurooq Amin and Manal Al Dowaiyan, it can be observed
that both of them agree that there is a presence of several stereotypes in the region in the context
of the women folk. According toOutram (2019, p 14), within the Arab region of the world, the
other people of the world are of the belief that the Arab society is mainly male dominated in
nature. In other words, they treat their female counter parts in a subservient manner and they
refuse to provide them with any kind of freedom of expression or speech. Furthermore, as opined
by Hutton and Brown(2016, p 23), there is a view that this part of the world consist of sheikhs
who are extremely orthodox by the way of being more religious in orientation. This means that
they adhere to the religious doctrines of the Holy Book of Quran in both their personal lives as
well as within the larger context of the public domain.

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Such stereotypes are found to be true, especially in the context of the Arab women. The
Arab women are indeed treated in an unfavorable manner within this part of the world.
According to Farhad and Rettig(2016, p 15), they do not entitled to any freedom and rights
which are granted to other women in different parts of the world. In this respect, it is important to
understand that the Arab women do not have an access to the basic means of education. They do
not have the liberty to participate in any kind of business activities. Furthermore, they are often
discouraged to even exercise their right to vote thereby having a voice in the political sphere. As
opined by Carroll(2017, p 25), this is quite ironic in context because most of the laws and the
Acts passed within the region of the Middle East in the context of the Arab women are usually
passed by their male counter parts without trying to understand the voices and opinions of the
women themselves.
Thus, as stated by Christie(2017, p 31), among all the various stereotypes that are present
in the Middle East, the one against the women folk, is held to be true. They do not enjoy the
same level of standing as done by their male counter parts. In this context, it is important to
understand that it is invariably the male gender who are more interested in abridging the rights
and the freedom of the women folk of Middle East. This has been widely correlated with the
opinions gathered from the two artists of Shurooq Amin and that of Manal Al Dowaiyan as they
belief that the Arab women have indeed been oppressed for a long period of time. Additionally,
as stated by Grabar(2017, p 43), in the event that they are desirous of undertaking an effective
part within the society in trying to bring about a change in the community and the various social
evils that are present there, such women are usually suppressed and entangled in legal actions.
For instance, in the interview conducted for Shurooq Amin, it was seen that Shurooq
Amin faced a lot of social stigma and political back lash for one of her exhibition in the year

61DISSERTATION
2012, which was titled “It’s a Man’s World”. The exhibition was crashed by five people
belonging to the secret service who locked down the gallery and took down all the painting s
from the walls of the gallery. The investigation that followed lasted for several months where she
was treated as a criminal and a traitor. During this time, she faced immense pressure from the
society who ostracized her and masked her paintings with the color black as a sign of disrespect
for her and all the work that she did. Even her own family were harangued as a result of her
expression against gender discrimination as prevailing in the society.
However, on the other hand, Manal Al Diwaiyan did not face any such challenges in her
place of work. She hails from Saudi Arabia where the people were more forthcoming with her
work and accepted the art forms that were exhibited by her. In this regard in the interview
conducted for her, it was observed that her first exhibition was in the region of Spain were she
received many accolades. She even managed to get the photographs exhibited in Spain to get
passed in Saudi Arabia were the common public were highly appreciated of her creative style of
art work. This exhibition was titled as the “Common Ground” and was sponsored by the
institution of the British Council. This exhibition also received a wide spread support from the
other countries of the region, especially by the media houses.
Thus, in this context, it can be seen that in the stereotypes present in the Arab region,
especially with regard to the women folk, severe discriminations is indeed made against them. In
the context of Shurooq Amin, it was seen that when she tried to raise her voice against the
prevalence of the discriminations made against the women gender, she was socially ostracized
and was investigated upon by her government itself. This shows that the region is extremely
orthodox and any attempts made to break such stereotypes would be met by a counter force,
from the political institution of the state itself in some of the instances such as Kuwait. However,

62DISSERTATION
in the context of Saudi Arabia, it was seen that this country was more open to changes and
accepted the fact that improvement was required in the society with regards to the women
gender.
5.2 Theme 2: Importance of Arab art
The medium of art has provided a significant platform to the people around the world to
explore themselves. According to Cooke(2016, p 21), art has mainly emerged in response to the
need to portray the realities of the societies and the communities. The Age of enlightenment is
considered to be one of the major turning points of human history whereby people of various
fields felt the need to express themselves. As stated by Marnin-Distelfeld(2018, p 34), the age of
enlightenment changed various important factors pertaining to art and culture that were present
in the previous times. Art prior to the enlightenment age was limited to religious themes and in
popular art at the time there were very few references to everyday life. Islamic Art was
influenced significantly by Roman and Byzantine art. As opined byJones (2017, p 41), the
prohibition of idolatry in Islam led to the development of Aniconism in Islamic Art. An
important aspect was the prevalence of secular art in the Islamic world. This art was used to
depict various stories alongside the everyday life in the Islamic world. According to
Mahmoud(2019), human and animal forms depicted in this art was removed from the
stereotypical form of mainstream Islamic art. However, due to religious restriction there was the
development of stylized imagery. The important fact concerning art of this age in the Islamic
world was the vast stretch of art that was witnessed.
However, as argued by Golkowska(2017, p 53), the Age of enlightenment was much
connected with the development of newer forms of Art both in terms of theme and style. Art
breaking stereotypes in this age was a very important development that occurred. According

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toLuyster (2017, p 11), in art there was development of newer emphasis on the learning of art
and music. Public concerts began to be held and themes of art became more secular in Europe.
As opined by Meri(2018, p 13-27), the entire age of enlightenment was a more away from the
cultural and religious stereotypes that were hence common in the Western world.
When mention is made of the Arab art, it refers to the Islamic form of art. This shows that
even though there exists many various kinds of religion within the Middle East, the Arab way of
life is considered to be synonymous to the Islamic way of life. In this regard, as opined
byCorbett (2018, p 51), the Islamic art refers to the art which is originally produced or drawn in
the region where Islam is considered to be the dominant way of life of the people. It is also
important to note that Islamic art includes all those forms of art, such as paintings and
architecture, not considering the subject of such structures.
However, as argued by Necipoğlu(2015, p 94), Islamic art in no way signifies the all-
encompassing feature of this part of the world. The Middle East is one of the most conflicted and
hostile region of the world due to the presence of different kinds of religions and cultures in this
region. According toGrant, (2016, p 15), the cultures of each religion signify a different way of
life that people adhere to. It is such differences which gives rise to the conflicts as experienced
within the region. The name Arab art is considered to be a misnomer because of its idea as a
homogenous region. As opined by Christensen(2018, p 45), the Arab art draws high level of
inspiration from the Western notions of freedom and liberty.
In the interview conducted for Shurooq Amin, it can be observed that she believed in the
idea of art as represented by Ekphrasis. Ekphrasis refers to the relation between the fields of
poetry and art. This highly inspired Shurooq Amin as poetry revealed to her the horrors present
in the society with respect to the status of women within the Arab region and art gave her a

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medium to express herself and her agitation towards this aspect of the society. In this context,
according to Nash(2017, p 27), it is important to observe that the Arab artists have to face a
challenge in both the fronts such as they have to be creative as well as they have to be conscious
about being more socially active. This is necessitated because of the fact that the Arab world is
strifed with a lot of prejudices against the women gender which prevents the effective
development and improvement of the society.
In the interview conducted for Manal Al Dawaiyan, it can be observed that she did not
allow her work to be treated as political or become elements of activism. Manal Al Dowaiyan
replied that she did not consider herself as an activist because she believed that activism refers to
that specie of public work where the various individuals are more physically active and
participative at the ground level. She was highly afraid to be actively involved in such bouts of
work and therefore, decided to work from the back drop. She therefore continues to live within a
sphere of creativity.
However, as argued by Allagui and Al-Najjar(2018, p 18), it can be observed that art
work is a necessary form of expression. Since the Arab women find it within themselves to
represent their lives and their position within the society with the aid of art, they are in effect,
trying to rebel against the various social evils that are present in the society. The other Arab
women of the region use the platform of art work provided by such artists to voice their own
frustration with the stereotypes that are present and wants to break them for their own safety and
security.
5.3 Theme 3: Arab artists breaking stereotypes with the aid of art
In the contemporary world order, the Arab women are taking the necessary measures to
break the stereotypes which are present in the society with regard to themselves. However,

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according to Alchalab(2018, p 31), the first measure which needs to be taken is with regards to
the changing of the society. The stereotypes refer to the various personality issues which are seen
in the case of a group of individuals belonging to a particular community or cultural group. As
stated by Roig et al. (2016, p 24), such stereotype is also done to an individual belonging to this
particular culture or group. Such personalities and characteristics of a group usually flows from
the belief system and values that the individuals adhere to.
In this regard, the stereotypes which can be seen to be existing with respect to the region
of the Middle East is a result of the social practices and the belief system which is peculiar to this
region of the world. According to Sinno and Smith(2016, p 35), the belief system of the Arab
region is largely influenced by the Quranic way of life. Thus, the doctrines of the Holy Book of
Quran is made applicable to the personal lives of the individuals in the context of which it is seen
that the women of Arab are accorded a subservient position in the society. In other words, as
stated by Alchalabi(2018, p 22), this has acted as a source of motivation to the Arab women to
stand up for their rights and to find avenues to break such stereotypes.
In the interview conducted for Shurooq Amin, it can be observed that she found the
women within this part of the world to be heavily dominated by their male counterparts. Within
every sphere of activity, the patriarchal system was present such as the political institution of the
state and especially within the private household. Thus, it was not surprising to notice a
solidarity of the Arab women in the present world to break through such stereotypes.
Furthermore, on being asked from where she drew her inspiration for art from, she was of
the opinion that the entire world provided a source of inspiration to her. When she observes a
particular phenomenon in the broader society which adversely impacts the way of life of the
individuals, the questions that forms in her mind, take the shape of a painting or art work. One of

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the instances that greatly perturbed her was that in an airport, she saw a mother and a daughter
being completely covered in veil. However, her two sons wear in shorts. This gender
discrimination even in the age of the twenty firs century made her question the prevalence of
such discriminatory activities in the society. This inspired her to paint an art work which would
help to express her agitation.
Shurooq Amin believed in the idea of activism. She was of the opinion that the various
stereotypes that existed in the Arab world could be challenged through the mechanism of
activism and the form of art. However, she drew a distinction on the stereotypical way of
defining activism and the way she participates in her field of work. According to her, she goes
around and talks to the concerned people, tries to understand the various places where they face
issues and attempts to bring about changes in those field of activities. For Amin, activism is not
about going out to the world and rebelling. Rather, activism is a lifestyle; it is something that
people do on a regular basis, trying to bring about changes in the society in the context of
improving the society.
Shurooq Amin is one of the most well renowned artists in the field of art within Kuwait.
One of her attempts to break the stereotype present in the society was in the year 2012 when she
put on an exhibition known as “It’s a Man’s World”. The authorities reacted quite aggressively
in response to the work done by Shurooq Amin in terms of her art work and the activities and
programs conducted by her in trying to protest against the evils present in the society. The region
of Middle East has had many artists and writers who tried to push the boundaries of the society
in response to the prevailing societal issues of the community which put the women at a
subordinate position in the society. However, when it came to Shurooq Amin, she spoke out

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against such evils is a blatant manner. In this regard, she sought to expand her work activity by
working in the museums as well.
This shows that region of Kuwait is not accepting to the ideas of changing its values and
traditions. The government of Kuwait had to involve the secret services to fight against the
wishes of Shurooq Amin. She tried to fight against the various stereotypes that prevailed in the
society as observed against the women gender. However, the government did not allow her to do
so and provided stiff resistance in the event she arranged an exhibition to this cause. Thus, it can
be seen that the within the region of Middle East, the country of Kuwait is not too keen on
eradicating he social evils that are present in the society. Thus, they fight against many attempts
made to this respect, even if they occur in the form of art.
In the interview conducted for Manla Al Diwaiyan, it can be observed that the women of
Saudi Arabia are extremely closely related with the various forms of art work because of the
liberal spirit which is imbibed within it. Being a country of Islamic faith, initially there existed
various limitations on the society and the position it accorded to its women. However, Saudi
Arabia has always been a country which tried its best to prevent any segregation being made
between its two genders. However, certain discriminations always existed such as during the
reading of poetry sessions, the women folk were made to sit separated from the male gender.
However, in spite of the presence of a wall of some material elements between the two genders,
the culture of the community was such that it provided an equal opportunity to both the genders
to enjoy the rich cultural heritage of the society. Manal Al Dowaiyan was of the opinion that the
Saudi women were not exclusively attracted to the field of painting only because during the rise
of the artistic movement, there were activities of weaving, photography and collage. As a result,
the women of Saudi Arabia worked on various kinds of media.

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In the context of activism and art work, it can be observed that Manal Al Dowaiyan did
not consider herself as an activist because she believed that activism refers to that specie of
public work where the various individuals are more physically active and participative at the
ground level. She was highly afraid to be actively involved in such bouts of work and therefore,
decided to work from the back drop. She therefore continues to live within a sphere of creativity.
Thus, it can be seen that conscious efforts were made by Manal Al Dawaiyan for
changing the society of Saudi Arabia and the various stereotypes that were attached to it. She
wanted to change the stereotypes that are attached with the community and this was done with
the help of her art work. Her art work provide to be extremely valuable in this context. They
were highly appreciated by majority of the people around the world from the areas of South
Asia, Africa as well as East Asia. Thus, she was successful in seeking to bring about a change in
the region of Middle East.
5.4 Summary
This chapter analyzes in a detailed and comprehensive manner the main purpose of the
research. The research aims to understand the prevalence of stereotypes within the larger
community of the idle east and how the Arab women are seeking to break such stereotypes
through the medium of art. In this context, the chapter links the information collected in the
chapter of literature review with that of the interviews conducted in the cases of Shurooq Amin
and that of Manal Al Dawaiyan.
Shurooq Amin and Manal Al Dawaiyan have been successful in bringing about a change
in the society with the support of their art work. However, the journey of Shurrooq is more
difficult than the experiences of Manal Al Dawaiyan. Shurooq had to work within the region of
Kuwait whose political structure was not helpful in promoting the art of Amin. Instead, when she

69DISSERTATION
tried to arrange an exhibition which sought to expose the realities of the society in the year of
2012, the secret services were engaged to shut down her exhibition and they investigated her. On
the other hand, Manal Al Dawaiyan, had the support of her country in her art work. Saudi Arabia
is known for its rich cultural heritage and the attempts made by the political power to maintain
this aspect in front of the world. Although the men and the women are encouraged to remain
separated from each other, they are encouraged to participate within the field of art and culture.
Thus, to summarize, this chapter tries to understand how the Arab women have been breaking
the stereotypes present in their culture with the support of art.

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Chapter 6: Conclusion
6.0 Conclusion
Thus, to conclude, it can be observed that the significance of art in helping to breaking
the stereotypes present within the Arab region is paramount. Many Arab women artists are
finding the courage to break such stereotypes which are generated as a result of the very
practices that are adhered to within their own culture. The field of art is used as it provides such
women with a platform to express those ideas and expression within themselves which they
cannot vocalize. The Arab world limits a lot of freedoms and rights which are granted to the
women folk and due to this, the women gender are unable to find the political avenues to make
their voices heard. However, the medium of art is seen to a cultural sphere which is accessible by
all the individuals in the society. Art is an abstract notion whose interpretation depends upon the
viewer. Thus, the Arab women has been able to capitalize upon this and utilize this platform to
speak up against the various atrocities which have been existing in their society. In the
dissertation, the researcher has conducted two primary interviews with two of the most renowned
artists of all times, such as Shuroq Amin and Manal Al Dowaiyan. For Shurooq Amin, it has
proved to be quite difficult to use her art work to break the stereotypes present within the Arab
society. She hails from Kuwait which is one of the most orthodox countries within the region of
Middle East. As a result of its conservative political sphere, she has not received much help from
either her government or the people of her society to support her in trying to bring about a
change in the society. Manal Al Dowaiyan, on the other hand, has been able to utilize the field of
art in an effective manner, to break the various stereotypes present within her society of Saudi
Arabia. Although Saudi Arabia is quite strict with regards to gender segregation, it upholds the
sanctity of the field of art and culture. It realizes the true spirit of art and gives equal access to

71DISSERTATION
both of its gender to participate in this field and bring about a change in the society with the aid
of this platform. In this context, it can be observed that both the artistst and many other artists of
the society have been attempting their hardest to use the personal sphere of art to bring about a
change in their orthodox society by breaking the various stereotypes that are present within their
culture. For instance, they are desirous of showing to the people of the Western world that they
do not dress in the way they are envisioned to be dressed.
6.1 Linking with objectives
The research has sought to answer the issue as to which extent the Arab women have
been successful in their attempts to break the stereotypes present in their society with the aid of
the field of art. In this regard, the data gathered in the course of the research work has been
effective in answering the research objectives which can be seen below.
Research Objective 1 -This objective tries to determine the role of stereotyping as present
within the Arab region. The section on literature review has dealt, in a detailed manner, with
regards to this objective. The meaning of stereotype has been looked in to within this section of
the research. Stereotype has been defined to be judgement of a personality of an individual based
on the broader belief system or values held in the context of the other members of the group to
which the individual belongs to. In this respect, there are many stereotypes which are present in
the context of the Arab region. The Arab people are said to ascribe to a particular belief system
which usually flows from the Holy Book of the Quran, which is the religious scripture of the
Muslim population.
Research Objective 2 - This research objective tries to analyze and discuss the role played by
the women present in the Arab culture. The section of 2.2 and 2.3 adequately examines this idea.
The authors and scholars related to this field of study agree that within the region of Arab, the

72DISSERTATION
women are accorded a much lower position in the society. They are not allowed certain rights
and freedoms which are granted to their male counter parts. This has posed a severe challenge to
them because even to this age of the twenty first century, the Arab women in many parts of the
region of Middle East are not allowed the right to participate in the political sphere. Due to the
restriction on their opportunity to work in the public sphere, their economic status is deplorable
and they have to be completely dependent on the male gender of their household.
Research Objective 3 - This research objective triesto understand the importance of the Arab
women as professional artists. This research objective has been looked in to in the literature
review section of 2.5. In this section, the researcher has examined how the Arab women seek to
break the various stereotypes that exist in the society with regards to them. The Arab world .
Furthermore, the works done by Shurooq Amin and Manal Al Dowaiyan have been analyzed in
the chapters of data findings and data analysis. They researcher has attempted to show the
important position held by the women of Arab to work as professional artists in this part of the
world since they are not given the political field to express themselves.
Research Objective 4 -This research objective attempts to identify and analyze the effectiveness
of artistic work done by Arab women to break stereotypes present in the society. The researcher
has interviewed two well renowned artists belonging to the region of Middle East to understand
how effective they have been in their attempts to break stereotype present in the Arab world with
the aid of art work. With respect to Shurooq Amin, it can be observed that she faced many
challenges in her attempts to bring about efficient changes in the society. Her art work were too
blatant in nature and they sought to portray the present social evils of the society in their truest
form. Manal Al Dowaiyan, on the other hand, was not an activist in orientation. She was
essentially a photographer and although she tried to break the stereotypes of the Arab world, she

73DISSERTATION
simply sought to be a creative artists. She used her platform of art in a personal context instead
of as a political field.
6.2 Future Scope of study
This study is quite significant as it seeks to provide valuable information with regards to
how the field of art can be used to bring about effective changes in the society. Stereotypes are
present in every society of the world. Art depicts the reality of such societies and the values and
the principles which are held by such societies of the world. In this respect, by understanding the
art works as depicted by the artists of the world, it becomes easier to understand a particular
community of the world. This, in turn, proves to be invaluable in changing or breaking the
stereotypes which are present in the world with regards to that society.

74DISSERTATION
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Appendix
Interview Questions for Shurooq Amin
 There are so many sides to you. You are a teacher, mother, poet, writer, artist, activist,
thought leader – Who is Shurooq Amin?
 How did art become your calling?
 You have a PhD in Ekphrasis. What is Ekphrasis Art? And why did you specialize in
this?
 Would it be wrong to say that your career as an artist took a different turn after ‘Society
Girls’ in 2009?
 What inspires you as an artist?
 What makes your art different and successful?
 You have had your share of controversies. In 2012, your exhibition titled ‘It’s a Man’s
World’ at Al M Gallery was shut down by the authorities within hours of its opening. It
must have been very difficult for you.
 Why did you think the authorities reacted the way they did?
 Has your vision changed over the years?
 How do you deal with controversies? Do you attract controversy - are you Controversy's
child?
 Did you change the way you work or the way you express yourself?
 How do you define feminism?
 Do you link your art with activism?
 Where do you see yourself in a few years from now?

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Interview Questions for Manal Al Dawaiyan
 How vibrant is an artistic culture in Saudi Arabia? Where would you place Saudi women
in this context?
 When did Saudi women start playing an active part as artists? Was it difficult for them?
 Were Saudi women more attracted to painting as an artistic medium?
 What inspired you to become an artist? Was your journey difficult?
 Can you share a bit about your beginnings as an artist?
 Did you get enough support from the media?
 How did your family react? Did you receive their support?
 You mentioned in an interview that the exhibition stood as “a space between fear and
activism”. What do you mean by that?
 Your art has attracted hundreds of women to use art as a new platform to address social
injustice. Do you agree and how did that come about?
 Your works have found a place in renowned museums and galleries in the world. Are you
the first Saudi women artist to be received so well?
 How have your works been received in the western world?
 Would it be right to say that as a Saudi woman artist, you have broken stereotypes?

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