Photographer #250: Boushra Almutawakel

Boushra Almutawakel, 1969, Yemen, has been focusing on social interpretations of culture in Yemen. She studied in the United States and returned to Yemen in 1994. Since 1998 she has been a full-time photographer with a vast amount of projects and an impressive body of work. One of her long term projects is the Hijab Series. In this series, which consists of various sub-series, she explores women and the veil they wear. The veil has become an icon to the west of suppression, yet Boushra wants to emphasize that under the veil, women are individual and varied, and the reasons for wearing the veil vary enormously. In one of her images; True Self, she compared the veil to make-up, both masking the true identity of the women underneath. Boushra socially engaged photography is daring, beautifully executed and contains a very strong message. The following images come from the Hijab Series: Mother Daughter Doll, Veil-Unveil, Fulla and Untitled.

Unfortunately Boushra does not have a website yet, for more info and images visit: universes-in-universe.org and/or www.greatermiddleeastphoto.com