Happy International Women’s Day! A day to remember the ultimate agency women around the world reclaim through their own daily practices and efforts. Read about four women shaping the future of Middle Eastern Art, their work and vision in this post.

Source: Christine Donley

“There is a tendency for the West to hyper-focus on the politics of the veil and barbaric practices, and ignore almost everything else happening across the region(s), including the stories of powerful, dynamic, game changing women from and working in the Middle East.

I so often find myself blown away by the accomplishments of women working across the Middle East. The Arab Spring was/is a time and space that prompts the American media to broadcast a rarely seen view of Arab women, including veiled and religious, as powerful agents of change. In reality, there are countless women living, working, thriving, and achieving great things across the region, and we rarely hear their stories.  I want to see more balanced and empowered perspectives in the media and support for those women and their projects from those in power who claim to care about “the future of the Middle East.”

Continue reading here.