Cape Town, South Africa
Asanda Sizani Writes Forgotten South African Women Back Into History
Step into the dazzling world of editor and creative luminary Asanda Sizani – a woman whose work is fuelled by an unstoppable drive to flourish and to make sure that everyone else does, too.
As the sun dipped below the horizon during Asanda Sizani's childhood days, her grandmother would gather their Eastern Cape community's offspring. In those twilight moments, she would spin tales of African folklore, transporting the young minds to bygone eras. "Losing myself in these worlds that she described so vividly, it was natural for me to become a storyteller in my own way" Sizani tells me over coffee on a balmy Wednesday morning.
The ex-Glamour editor-in-chief now champions silenced voices – figures such as 19th-century musician Nokutela Mdima-Dube and the late journalist Noni Jabavu. Defying history's omissions, she traces their words and worlds. Her takeaway? That researching these trailblazers goes beyond academia, becoming a spiritual journey, too. Read on SUITCASE
Cape Town, South Africa
Mandisi Dyantyis Serenades People’s Hearts As He Charts New Creative Paths In South Africa
Penning the narrative of his era, Mandisi Dyantyis invites us into his vision of South Africa. We meet the beloved jazz composer, instrumentalist and vocalist in Cape Town
Two weeks have passed since I met Mandisi Dyantyis at his recording space in a Methodist church in Cape Town's Rosebank district, and the soulful notes of "Molo Sisi" have become an enduring melody in my mind. Whether through his soul-stirring vocals, rhythmic prowess or heartfelt storytelling, Dyantyis' artistry effortlessly immerses you in a world pulsating with pride for his homeland. Jazz becomes the anthem of the people, yet within the lyrics, he shares intimate chapters of his own journey, laying bare profound cultural awakenings. Read on SUITCASE
San Antonio, Texas, USA
A Celebratory Guide To San Antonio – Where History Fuels Liberal Minds
In San Antonio, every week is a celebration. It’s where you dance, raise a toast to life, and sample some of Texas’ most profound culinary and cultural flavours. The most profound, even? We dive right in
Ever landed in a spot so déjà vu-inducing that you find yourself cross-examining your map, wondering if it's playing tricks on your sense of place? Minus the eagle proudly perched above the bar at San Antonio's Mi Tierra, I might start questioning whether I accidentally strolled over the border into Mexico. At 9am, surrounded by piñatas, waiters donned in Jalisco dresses, a mariachi ensemble and six thirtysomething gents, sharp in white and black tuxedos, we raise a toast with mezcal margaritas. Too hard, too early? Not a chance. Read on SUITCASE
San Antonio, Texas, USA
The Diverse New Generation Of Chefs Switching Up San Antonio’s Food Scene
In the Texan city synonymous with Tex-Mex, we meet three kitchen creatives charting new culinary courses inspired by San Antonio’s evolving social makeup
It's Friday afternoon in the Texan city of San Antonio, and Jennifer Hwa Dobbertin is treating me to an “I used to live in Thailand” boozy boba drink. As I sip the aged rum, orange liqueur, herbal bitter and Thai tea blend, my gaze wanders across the interiors of her restaurant, Best Quality Daughter, from the pink floral wallpaper and neon-lit Hanzi characters to two vintage Chinese posters. Between them sits a photograph of a woman reclining on a mattress, white ornamental lines painted on her bare back. In a room adjacent to where I sit – softly lit with wicker blinds – I can see a young family enjoying their meal in a circular, retro booth. Read on SUITCASE
London, UK
The Gentlewoman’s Penny Martin publishes an optimistic vision of social change
With Penny Martin at its helm, The Gentlewoman has emphasized genuine storytelling since its launch in 2009. Prior to the coronavirus lockdown, we met up with the revered magazine editor in London to discuss viable role models, slowing down, and trusting her instincts.
The leafy landscape of Gunnersbury Park in West London’s suburb of Ealing, with its grand, ivory-colored estate rising atop a tiny hill, seems desolate on this Friday afternoon. As we meander along the soggy trail towards a coffee shop in the heart of Ealing, Penny Martin tells me about her recent run-cum-interview with fashion designer Paula Gerbase through central London’s Regent’s Park. That Martin mastered an elaborate 89-minute-interview while catching her breath strikes me as impressive, but is also characteristic of the first and only Editor in Chief of the biannual fashion and women’s publication, The Gentlewoman. Whip-smart and remarkably attentive, she knows all the tricks of her trade. Read on FRIENDS OF FRIENDS
Musician Sudan Archives pushes past personal, creative, and sexual limits
Los Angeles, USA
Sudan Archives wants you to know that she is wild and crazy. The Los Angeles-based, Cincinnati-born R&B and soul singer, songwriter, violinist, and producer, whose actual name is Brittney Parks, pushes the envelope of her genre in a direction that is totally autonomous.
It’s half-past eleven in the morning and Brittney Parks asks me for a glass of wine to get her into the right frame of mind. Would she like anything to eat, I ask? “Currywurst!” she exclaims. “Isn’t that a thing here [in Berlin]?” The smell of incense permeates the room; behind us she has neatly organized her outfits and accessories for our shoot—she currently carries about six show outfits around Europe with her, most of them made by up-and-coming designers in London or L.A. Be it the silver chain or a leather cut-out dress, they complement her fiery spirit that she lives out on stage. Off stage, she is surprisingly shy and reserved. Read on FRIENDS OF FRIENDS
New York, USA
Illustrating stats in a time of unrest with British data journalist Mona Chalai
Drawing unseen data to demythologize the important statistics, Mona Chalabi arms us the tools to shift power dynamics and act.
A slight humming sound emanates from her air conditioning on a hot Wednesday morning as Brooklyn-based, British data journalist and illustrator Mona Chalabi heaves a sigh. The afternoon before, Boris Johnson was named the new Prime Minister of the UK. Living through the Trump presidency and witnessing urban liberals’ dissidence with the views of the rest of the country, “there was no doubt in my mind that this would happen,” she says, “though saying that Boris Johnson is actually the Prime Minister does feel surreal.” Though the parallels between Johnson and Donald Trump rivet Chalabi (“Those two men had these ambitions for a really long time, they have made sure they are household names, because they understand it’s that recognition that matters more than anything else.”), she cares more about the bigger picture, the implications of their rise to power. Read on FRIENDS OF FRIENDS
London, UK
Nicholas Daley’s nonconformist approach to menswear takes shape through a beat all of its own
There’s something about the calm, self-aware way menswear designer Nicholas Daley steps into a room.
Music permeates the space of Nicholas Daley’s studio based in the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in North London: From Shabaka Hutchings’ eloquent, saxophone-heavy tunes and his jazz group Sons of Kemet, a line-up that comprises some of the most progressive 21st-century talents in British jazz, to Culture’s Two Sevens Clash, an instrumental album to Jamaica’s grassroots reggae movement. Whatever spectrum Daley delves in, music puts him in the right frame of mind. “There’s so much mental stimulus through playing vinyl,” he says, flipping through a box of records, picking one by Alice Coltrane. Read on FRIENDS OF FRIENDS
My Neighbourhood: Wedding, Berlin
Berlin, Germany
Julia-Ruth Villbrandt welcomes me outside Coffee Circle’s Wedding branch. Local creatives mingle within the bright open-plan space, sipping on cups of artisan brew. Taking in the languid scene, I find myself momentarily awkward – greeted by a warm smile and a fresh face, I’m instantly set at ease. Jules beats me to say: “We’re still in a pandemic. I never know whether to go in for a hug or not either!” A golden sunbeam falls across her face, meeting the pale yellow shade of her sweater. Jules is the founder of Herz & Blut, the interior design and lifestyle magazine she conceived over 12 years ago.
There’s an earthiness to Jules that comes a quest to feel comfortable in every situation. She’s also not fussy or precious. Only when I ask about her job title does she reply that if I wrote “photographer”, rather than “art director”, she may not like it: “Though I’m really not vain about it. Even if you wrote ‘influencer’. [That title] has such a bad reputation, but what I do is influence people. I strive to inspire people by showing what the consumer world has to offer, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing, because, for me, beautiful things can bring a lot of joy.” Jules is as joyful and thoughtful as her Instagram account, which has over 160k followers, suggests. Bursting with innovative ideas, she directs it with a seemingly boundless energy. Read on Wrong Journal
London, UK
The Krane: Post-Industrial Luxury
As I slowly enter that drowsy, half-awake, half-asleep stage on this gloomy Tuesday morning, I sense a feeling of misplacement. Used to bright, and often artificial, city lights and thumping urban noise, I gratefully accept the silence around me.
The only sound is the occasional breeze our accommodation is exposed to. I look up for a moment and unhesitatingly find my way back to the comfort of the crisp white bed sheets that immaculately contrast with the myriad shades of black around us. In luxury travel, The Krane, a one-room hotel and spa in Copenhagen’s emerging harbour district, Nordhavn, unequivocally epitomises the concept of a hideaway, a nonpareil retreat from the daily grind. Read in print and online
Dessau, Germany
The Bauhaus Klee And Kandinsky House
The East German town of Dessau seems unassuming at first glance. A concrete road opens up before us as we exit its sleepy train station early in the morning, slowly leading us to Dessau’s famous seven white letters, emblazoned on a building’s side: “B A U H A U S”. Busses stop intermittently, though travel groups have yet to descend on the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The brainchild of Walter Gropius and his pivotal concept of unifying education in the arts and crafts, the seminal art school established the town as a hub for creative production between 1925 and its dissolution in 1933. Read on OPENHOUSE
Copenhagen, Denmark
Wake Up Here: The Hoxton Southwark
Comfortable, design-forward and with a prime South Bank location, this Hoxton outpost provides easy access to most of London’s historical landmarks – if you can tear yourself away from the 14th-floor restaurant
If you're curious about the possibility that oysters are, truly, aphrodisiac, there could be few places better than The Hoxton, Southwark to conduct a little scientific research. Specifically, at the hotel's Seabird restaurant, where, perched on the 14th floor, the delicacies come with sprawling skyline views. And even if the briny bivalves don't cast their spell, a sparklingly mischievous dirty martini or glass of one of the vinous wonders hailing from Europe's boutique vineyards just might. Welcome to the Mediterranean – London weather permitting, of course. Read on SUITCASE
Berlin, Germany
Transdisciplinary artist Grada Kilomba reminds us of the severity of social oppression
No matter how hard some artists, and particularly Black female artists, aim to transcend the time and place in which they were born, they are often anchored to it by societal subjection. Recovering her history as a woman of color, artist and writer Grada Kilomba transgresses stereotypes that would only ever hold her back.
Born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal with Angolan, Sao Toman, and Portuguese roots, Berlin-based artist and writer Grada Kilomba finds it conflicting to say that she belongs to any specific place. In fact, she condemns patriotic notions of identity and nationality. To her, they solely promote a “very old and dangerous concept linked to conservative politics,” a notion she is not interested in cultivating or belonging to. Read on FRIENDS OF FRIENDS
Tehran, Iran
Suppression has never been a barrier for Iranian translator and gallerist Lili Golestan
While it may be harder to work creatively in a society restricted by censorship, Iranian translator and gallerist Lili Golestan has never taken no for an answer.
Lili Golestan has prepared black tea and cream puffs for her guests on a rather damp Sunday morning—the kind where the air spits a fine mist that never becomes fully-fledged rain. She tentatively opens the front gates to her residence, revealing a lush, green garden. Sculptural artworks are scattered along the small path leading up to the living space, adjacent to the art gallery that she has run for almost 30 years. Located in Darrous, an affluent suburb in Northern Tehran, Golestan has lived in this three-story house for 40 years. It’s where she raised her three children (she is the mother of Mani Haghighi, the acclaimed Iranian filmmaker) and showcases her most precious belongings: an art collection of about 80 works, which includes works by Iranian contemporary artists Monir Farmanfarmaian and Sohrab Sepehri. Her favorite piece is Red Lines by the painter and sculptor Charles-Hossein Zenderoudi. Read on FRIENDS OF FRIENDS
Melbourne, Australia
Atong Atem demystifies postcolonial identities one snapshot at a time
The idiosyncratic work of photographer Atong Atem is distinctly personal. Not only does it urge you to understand the individual behind the lens, but every aspect that frames her existence.
Though her website assured me she is “alive and doing okay,” getting a hold of the Melbourne-based photographer and writer Atong Atem seemed impossible at first. I learn about the 28-year-old’s busy schedule—with commitments including a recent show at Sydney Contemporary and heaps of new projects in the making—when we meet at Padre Coffee, one of Melbourne’s open-plan coffee shops in Brunswick, an area abundant with art spaces and studios that backdrop the city’s towering skyline. The sleek, capitalist setting seems far removed from the city’s indigenous history, and indeed, Australia’s in general. Originally known as Narm—an indigenous name that many are demanding to be reinstated—Melbourne is filled with a vibrant community of artists, creatives, and activists who are using their practices to explore related issues. Atem is one such artist. Read on FRIENDS OF FRIENDS
Tblisi, Georgia
Nestan Nijaradze’s curatorial practice stimulates new thinking in Georgia
When Nestan Nijaradze left Tbilisi for Paris in 1995, her home country was in turmoil, both socially and politically. Wounded by seven decades of Communist rule, and four years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country of Georgia was still coping with a radically changing reality in daily life and a collapse of all social systems. “Suddenly individuals started to face global problems and questioned the values we presented,” Nestan Nijaradze recalls of the period that shaped her formative years. “There was this need to reinvent ourselves and find ways to adapt.” Like many of her peers, Nijaradze predominantly knew art forms as propaganda tools; art was ideological. Read on FRIENDS OF FRIENDS
Berlin, Germany
Finding one’s voice with author and journalist Mirna Funk
Mirna Funk is not shy to speak her mind. The Berlin and Tel Aviv-based novelist, screenwriter, and journalist has a lot to say about contemporary Jewish culture, womanhood, and self-worth. “I always say my hobbies are writing about Jews, sex, and money,” she laughs as we find a table at Roststätte, a coffee joint in Berlin Mitte. Mirna and her five-year-old daughter, Etta, used to live across the street; since our chat, they have moved to a new flat nearby. Motherhood, as a topic, doesn’t phase her any longer. “I don’t want anything to do with the mum bubble. I’m a mother, yes, but I’m also a woman, an author, and a Jew,” she notes frankly. Read on HORIZN STUDIOS
Lagos, Nigeria
Finding Beauty In The Mundane With Nigerian American Artist Wura-Natasha Ogunji
How often do you find yourself initiating interactions with strangers – extending a warm greeting or sharing a spontaneous smile – unencumbered by the fear of being labelled as awkward or, worse, creepy? For visual artist, photographer and performer Wura-Natasha Ogunji, the revelation of the beauty in such unassuming encounters came not in the US, where she grew up, but in vibrant Lagos, Africa's most populous city, which, home to almost 15 million souls, is a far cry from her former Austin abode. And yet, while Lagos may sprawl and echo with boisterous energy, Ogunji paradoxically perceives it as small and tight-knit, too – a place where individuals collectively "take care of each other". Read on SUITCASE
Berlin, Germany
In Oyoun co-founder and artistic director Louna Sbou’s world, optimism prevails
If Louna Sbou is interested in you, she’ll go straight to deep talk. “When was the last time you cried and why? What are you really passionate about?” asks the CEO and artistic director of Oyoun, the anti-disciplinary art and cultural institution amplifying decolonial, queer*feminist, and migrant perspectives she co-founded in 2020. It’s the depth that comes with her mission to realise a utopia of a free society, one in which love, trust, and compassion reign, and to lead us into a brighter, more connected future: “Our work is heavy. We need to balance that intensity and preserve our energy,” Louna says. Read on HORIZN STUDIOS
Berlin, Germany
Narratives of home, told through the language of dance with Medhat Aldaabal
Medhat Aldaabal catches his breath after an improvised performance on the deck of the arts and theater center, Radialsystem V in Berlin. It was in this exact spot two years ago that the contemporary dancer and choreographer’s first performance of his personal piece Amal took center stage. Amal depicts its four immigrant protagonists’ state of being in-between; between Syria, Medhat’s native country, and a new society in Berlin, his home since 2015. Or, as Medhat calls it, “a completely new world.” His group of dancers were acting out argument scenes between relatives and moments of inner conflict through the dance; their emotions juxtaposed anger and hate with peacefulness, love, and forgiveness. The audience likely ascribed their act to war or crisis. Medhat doesn’t mind such misperceptions, though. “With dance I can say what I want without judgement because my body hears what I’m saying, and I can say it in my language of dance,” Medhat notes. Read on FRIENDS OF FRIENDS
Berlin, Germany
Moving Through The World With Grace, Power, And Pride
When David Mendez stood up on stage at his very first Berlin ball in 2016, he could finally breathe freely. At last, he felt seen. With his white shirt unbuttoned, his blue skinny jeans showing off his toned physique, and his hair tousled, he walked All American Runway, a signature ballroom category devoted to male fashion models. “I didn’t want to go on stage and immediately open myself up, to proclaim that I’m gay straight away,” the trained theatre actor and dancer tells me while catching his breath. We’re in Berlin on a bright but overcast day. Sporting a warm yellow shirt and soft gold chain accentuating his charismatic character, he moves through the city that opened doors for him years ago. Read on FRIENDS OF FRIENDS
Berlin, Germany
Noah Slee has found his voice. And it’s far from formulaic
Noah Slee has bleached his dark curls. “I needed a Beyoncé moment,” he exclaims, laughing. It’s the launch day of the Berlin-based musician’s new single, Soulflower, the first single of Twice, his second record. His guitar in one hand, a glass of prosecco in the other, he wears a beam of satisfaction. It’s been two years since his debut album, Otherland, a striking fusion of R&B and soul that drew inspiration from Slee’s manifold personal experiences. In hindsight, Slee describes it as deep, hopeful, and groovy. “However deep the story, it’s gotta be groovy. It’s my favorite way to write music,” he says. How do the new tunes differ from Otherland? “Not that Otherland was super serious, but I’m more relaxed and don’t give a fuck in terms of what I want to say and how I want to say it,” he says. His audience’s appreciation has given him a lot of confidence, something the EP reflects beyond doubt. In part, it addresses hurdles he recently tackled. Hold on, Stop Me speaks about having three throat operations that, though not life-threatening, burdened him while finding his voice as a musician. “A lot of people have health issues, it’s just part of life,” he says, referring to the fact that he translates his experiences in a breezy way. Because, before everything else, Slee’s work is relatable, and suits almost every scenario. The song also touches on valuing life: “It’s quite self-affirming, too, you know? Read on FRIENDS OF FRIENDS
Berlin, Germany
Designer and former athlete Benjamin Patch on carving out his own path
Benjamin Patch recently happened upon an archival comment from the depths of the internet and felt both flabbergasted and affirmed. It seems that, in that moment, he himself had unintentionally determined his path long before he knew it. “Furniture and interior design,” he had typed back to a curious fan asking him about his alternate calling if he were ever to quit his globally acclaimed volleyball career.
It’s a sunny Friday morning, and I meet Benjamin at his airy Berlin-Mitte flat, sitting at a rustic table made by, you guessed it, himself. Like everything around us, from voluminous, organically shaped vases to slender, timeless candlesticks, stone chairs and metallic stools, it epitomises Benjamin’s creative oeuvre. Lest I forget his travel trinkets, like a woven bowl from Lagos, Nigeria, or rocks from Mallorca’s shores. Just days prior, the designer and art director had returned from a trip to California, where he had searched for waters and wilderness away from Berlin. Read on HORIZN STUDIOS
London, UK
Conscious consumerism with Jemma Finch
Setting her intentions for the day is central in Jemma Finch’s morning ritual. To build a healthy routine, the founder and CEO of Stories Behind Things forgoes messages, emails, and social media and commutes on foot, a trait unsurprising for someone so openly committed to conscious living. Chatting with me on one of those very last summer days, she is quick to burst the bubble: “Then I’ll sit in the office all day and work; switching between Zoom meetings, emails, and building out strategies,” she laughs.
Jemma is an eminent voice in London’s sustainable fashion scene. She launched Stories Behind Things as a passion project in 2018 as an answer to the fashion industry she found incredibly hard to navigate. Today, the one-stop storytelling platform and seasonal shop explores sustainability, climate, and consumption in positive and solution-led ways. This involves hosting brands that put the planet as a key stakeholder, statistics on climate change along with actionable steps, and physical pop-up events. “We want people to feel empowered. Traditionally, it sounds like it’s all doom and gloom and that we can’t do anything as individuals – that’s just not the case at all,” Jemma says. Read on HORIZN STUDIOS
Berlin, Germany
The beauty of electronic music with Colombian DJ and producer Dani Ramos
It’s a sunny July afternoon, and I find Dani Ramos outside of Kreuzberg’s Marheineke Markthalle with her daughter, Zulu, sipping on a cappuccino. The fresh-faced DJ, producer, and label owner wears a beaming smile; she’s one of those people who instantly makes you feel at ease. Hailing from Cali, Colombia’s capital of Salsa, and based in Berlin since 2014, the mother of two lives nearby; for now, she mostly splits her time between Lacroix Studio, her recording studio, and child care.
Dani’s work spans producing and playing her own music, collaborations with other artists, and even film stints – the 33-year-old’s portfolio includes tracks for TV openers, documentaries, and movie productions. Dani’s style shifts between bouncy and minimal house; she even integrates salsa into her sets. Pre-lockdown, she often played Berlin venues such as Watergate. “I’m not religious, but Panorama Bar is my church,” she chuckles. Read on HORIZN STUDIOS
Milan, Italy
Iris Roth embraces original crafts—and gives materiality new meaning in the process
Can the cultural value of crafts revive design? In the case of ceramicist Iris Roth and her collaborations with local Italian artisans, the answer might just be yes.
It’s surprisingly quiet in northern Milan’s Dergano neighborhood, a former rural village that has now established itself as a hub for contemporary design. Upon entering the studio of Michele, however, you feel as though the clock has been turned back. Archetypal canzones emit from a radio, permeating the room with the full-heartedness of la dolce vita. Shelves are littered with handmade ceramic casts, tableware, and sculptures. Michele has run the studio since 1976. Witnessing him work the spinning wheel and his wife carefully cutting a cast, reminds you how, for centuries, craftspeople have clung to the artisanal heritage of their work, uniting passion and formal quality. It’s easy to see why ceramicist and designer Iris Roth frequents this place; not only to oversee the production of her understated, everyday tableware, but to feel inspired by its owners’ slavish adherence to tradition. Read on FRIENDS OF FRIENDS
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Richard van der Laken fights social injustice one design challenge at a time
In his 1938 book, Design in Motion, artist Laszlo Moholy-Nagy urged the design world to see the profession as an attitude of resourcefulness and inventiveness.
In conversation with Richard van der Laken, the co-founder of the global design foundation and conference series, What Design Can Do, Moholy-Nagy’s thoughts immediately spring to mind. For What Design Can Do, this attitude relates to creating solutions that not only respond to the needs of both individuals and society, but stimulate change. A trained designer with over 30 years of experience—in 1995, he co-founded De Designpolitie, an Amsterdam-based studio, with Pepijn Zurburg before introducing What Design Can Do in 2011—Van der Laken, and his team of researchers and designers, ask creative thinkers to interpret global shifts and climates. Whether social, political, or cultural, they are ubiquitously subjected to far-reaching challenges; some of which, according to Van der Laken, governmental organizations rarely tackle. Read on FRIENDS OF FRIENDS
Berlin, Germany
Mayowa Osinubi is on a fast-paced journey to make comedy more inclusive
Recently asked by an Instagram follower how she got into comedy, Mayowa Osinubi’s answer was as frank and witty as she is: “I just realized my life was a joke and I was the only one who could properly convey that to the public.”
Osinubi’s vita reads like anything but a joke. Besides being a stand-up comedian, she is the founder of Issa Comedy Show, Berlin’s first comedy night highlighting the voices of POC and LGBTQI+ comedians, as well as a photographer, filmmaker, model, and activist. It makes for a busy schedule: Osinubi also practices kickboxing five days a week and posts by-weekly videos on Mayowa’s World, her YouTube channel, which she uses to talk about body positivity, freeform locs, and self-love, among various other topics. “I like to look at life like I’m a sprinter; I have no ability for long-distance running whatsoever,” she says with a laugh. “I like that, though, because I feel like you still get there, you just get there first.” Slowing down? Not her forte. “I run as fast as I can until I hit a wall. When I hit the wall I’ll breathe, think, and run as fast as I can again.” Read on FRIENDS OF FRIENDS
London, UK
Azeema Magazine steps up for women of color, translating personal heritages into daring, powerful stories
“We try to give women the voice, the strength, and the respect they deserve,” states Azeema founding editor Jameela Elfaki. Her print and online platform empowers female creatives living in the Middle East, North Africa, and the diaspora while aiding the exploration of her personal heritage.
In Saudi Arabia, women are now free to drive, but still take a back seat (in every respect) to men. While there was a brief window in which crown prince Mohammed bin Salman was viewed as a visionary young reformer, Saudi Arabia still shows no sign of combating its human rights record; women’s rights activists are still being incarcerated, and the male guardianship remains intact.
With this year’s lift of the driving ban, Noor Alabdulbaqi, Jameela Elfaki, and Sunayah Arshad, the brains behind the print magazine Azeema, decided to make a statement: The cover of their first issue, Habibi, depicts a woman behind the wheel, dressed in a niqab. Habibi translates to darling; “you would use it as an endearing term with your friends and significant other,” says Elfaki. In the context of Azeema, however, Elfaki describes its purpose as “almost the opposite of darling.” Read on FRIENDS OF FRIENDS