JUSTICE! عدالة

 Yasmine Mehio

D I M E N S I O N S: 20 C M X 20 C M

A  R T   T E C H N I Q U E: P H O T O G R A P H Y    P R I N T E D   O N    M A T   P A P E R

C O N C E P T – D E S C R I P T I O N –

I named by project –justice –      عدالة as that is what I want for the Muslim people around the world – justice –equality – fairness.

 It took me a lot of time to think of what I should do for this project as I always thought of myself as someone who is not creative in the arts – I am more into problem solving then creative arts you can say.

First I had to think of what Islam is to me? It was not something I usually think of. When it came for me to actually write on my paper what I think of Islam – I thought of a religion of peace and love, maybe it’s because I’m Muslim I think of it in this way and not many people think of it like this – it’s my identity . It’s a lifestyle it’s what makes me me and I am really passionate about my religion.

I thought really hard of few of the stereotypes that I really get bothered from then it hit me – I was recently in New York City and because I do not wear the scarf I did not face any problems but my boyfriend who is bearded faced many problems in the airport.

While we were there he would always get looks while walking on the street by some people and all that and I just because I would be going out in shorts –or clothes that make me look like I am a non-Muslim.

So I decided to base my project on three stereotypes that really bother me as they are really not true.

·         Muslim men are terrorists – dangerous – scar.

·         Muslim women have no rights in anything – have to be veiled.

·         In Islam women have no rights in the relationship and men abuse there wife.

My first two images show a man I wanted to show that men in Islam are not all abusers – killers – terrorists many of them are fathers, brothers and sons they are regular people and just because they go on their knees five times a day to pray to god does not make them bad people – in my photograph I wanted to show the man in the simplest of forms standing alone basically so you can see through him.

My third and fourth images are of a women – one time she is veiled and the other her hair is out I wanted to show that women veiled or not veiled doesn’t make a difference they are still humans and the reason they have decided to wear they veil is because of their devotion to god and to themselves . Why do we have to treat a women differently based on how she looks like on the outside? No one ever judges nuns?  Just because a women covers herself in the name of Islam does not mean she is doing it by force. Look at these women as strong for being courageous enough to cover themselves and be judged and still walk with their head high. To talk about the picture of the lady unveiled I wanted to show some Muslim women choose not to cover their hair, or to wear open clothes and go to parties but that doesn’t mean they still don’t devote themselves to god and pray five times a day and fast during the holy month – there is no difference between a veiled and non-veiled girl, they are one.

The last two images I wanted to show was a couple – a Muslim couple as a Muslim who travels abroad I always hear stories of how in Islam the man has all the rights the women gets nothing, or that the women is not allowed to look at her man in the face or the man abuses the woman all the time. I wanted to show how that’s not true the woman and man are like any other couple who love each other and are allowed to look at each other – the woman is not forced to walk behind the man – I would really love to say that they are equal but they are not how can we say that a women who carries a baby for 9 months and endures giving birth is equal to a man? She is by far stronger. A woman is allowed to look at her husband in the eyes and is allowed to work just like any other religion – a Muslim couple share love.

One’s faith should not define the kind of person we are.
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I am an 18 year old Lebanese, and have lived in Dubai my whole life, dubai has basically become home I am studying interior design not because I love art but because I love measurements and numbers and all that it takes to make up a space – it is not just about design and art it is a form of math. My favorite thing to do in the world is to bake – hopefully one day I will be able to go to culinary academy and then start my own business- I think that is my biggest dream.