By Diana Weggler and Fatma Sayed
Photovoice gives people the opportunity to examine their lives, families, and communities in unique and thoughtful ways. A highly regarded tool for self-exploration and self-expression, it has the power to raise awareness of things that might otherwise be ignored, suppressed, or overlooked. Recently, a project that took place all over the Middle East was brought to our attention by a woman who participated.
Using cameras and captions, parents across the Middle East are being encouraged to explore gender bias and stereotyped roles among mothers and fathers within the family unit. Fatma Sayed, a Projects manager at DNAAYA – Digital transformation in Egypt, recently participated in a large-scale community photovoice project titled, “Parenting Unlabelled.” Designed to empower and support parents throughout their parenting journey, the project aimed to create awareness around gender roles in the Middle East as they relate to parenting.
Workshops conducted across Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia (KSA) gave families the chance to express themselves and have their voices heard. Fatma describes the process she and others participated in: Employing the photovoice method, “Parents took photos expressing their feelings and challenges and added their own voice to those images through narratives explaining the [meaning] of their photos.”
At the launch event in Dubai, one of Fatma’s photos, titled, “Men are not ATM machine, ” was featured, and she was chosen to sit on a panel to talk about how, in Arab families, parenting responsibilities are typically tied to mothers, while a father’s role is almost exclusively that of providing for his family by earning—and spending—money.
After participating in the project, the mother of three teenage children spoke of the creative power and value inherent in the photovoice method. “Mums and dads were able to document their own experiences creatively and explore modern parenting roles and gender responsibilities within the family,” she says. Fatma’s images and captions do just that.
We are honored to share Fatma’s photos and captions with the PhotovoiceWorldwide Community. (Editor’s note: If you have participated in a project and would like to share it on this blog, please contact us here.
This Photovoice artwork was part of the “Parenting Unlabelled” project, which is a regional collaboration between Mustela Middle East and The Community Hub aiming to explore gender roles in Arab families. The participants’ Photovoice artwork highlighted many themes including the different experiences and gender roles of mothers and fathers, burnout for parents, unrealistic parenting societal expectations, and marriage and parenting stigmas.
The Community Hub is a consulting agency, founded by two Egyptian Community Psychologists Farah Shash and Hana Fahmy, focusing on mainstreaming participatory approaches to raise awareness on and provide innovative solutions for our five focus areas: gender, diversity & inclusion, impact, mental health and wellbeing, and entrepreneurship.
Check out The Community Hub and Mustela’s “Parenting Unlabelled” virtual exhibition now: https://artspaces.kunstmatrix.com/en/exhibition/11623087/parenting-unlabelled
When I was selected as an emerging leader in technology and awarded a program in the US, for a housewife who decided to start a new career at the age of 40, that was a huge successful step. While walking in the streets of Stanford I said to a colleague “Walking here makes me feel smart,” and she said, “You are HERE; you are SMART.”
To see more from the Community Hub, visit https://www.instagram.com/thecommunityhubeg/
Mustela Middle East: https://www.instagram.com/mustela_middleeast/?hl=en
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