An exhibition of photographs of Arab women leaves Lebanese blogger Leila Abu-Saba scratching her head. “I do scratch my head, however, at the breathless description of the purpose of the show. See Arab women cross-dressing! Unveiled! Scantily clad! Those poor Arab women, they used to be liberated and now they're all veiled and oppressed! Look at these pictures, they are so surprising! Arab women aren't all just hiding under burqas! They have intense, modern cultural interests that have been documented for the last hundred years – what a shock!” she rants.
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Yes, I did rant. My impression of the show’s description was based on the newspaper report about it. THe show itself is very thoughtful and respectful – it’s just the reporters who have trouble with the concept of self-actualized Arab women. Please go see this show if you are in San Francisco…