The Olympics and Women in the Middle East by Brigitte Lacombe
Irrespective of the athletes’ performances, the 2012 Olympics already broke one record as the first Olympic Games in which all of the nations have a female athlete representing them. With this in mind, French photographer Brigitte Lacombe has showcased Arab sportswomen in portraits. Her seven-month project began in 2011 in the Athletes Village at the Arab Games in Doha. Over the next year Lacombe photographed more than 50 Arab female athletes, from beginners to Olympians, from 20 different Arab countries. Lacombe’s work is currently being exhibited as “Hey’Ya: Arab Women in Sport” and is being shown alongside videos by her sister, Marian Lacombe, situating the images within the women’s personal histories as well as a wider, often unspoken, discourse on gender, culture and sport in the Arab world.
بانوراما أخرى
Video | Avant-Titre: “Lift like a girl”… yet not at the Olympics
Bassam Mortada engages with Egypt's history of Olympic weightlifting in a new Avant-Titre episode
Video | Game-changers
From alleyway matches to the premier league and national team, Egypt's girls and women play football much like their male counterparts. Yet the opportunities for women's football pale in comparison,…
City Club: Investing in provincial middle-class dreams
The main driver of increasingly distinct class enclaves in Egypt has been expanding privatization
Your support is the only way to ensure independent, progressive journalism survives.
You have a right to access accurate information, be stimulated by innovative and nuanced reporting, and be moved by compelling storytelling. Subscribe now to become part of the growing community of members who help us maintain our editorial independence.
Join us