Epsilon Alpha Sigma would like to honor Laura Boushnak, a photographer, as our July’s Empowered Arab women of the month. Boushnak is a Kuwaiti-born Palestinian who obtained her Bachelors of Arts in Sociology at the Lebanese University. She is currently an independent photographer but has previously worked for the Associated Press in Lebanon and for Agence France-Presse. Through her work, Boushnak showcases various sectors of the Arab world, including social and cultural issues that affect the everyday lives of those living in the region. One of her projects, entitled “I Read I Write,” examines the significant role that education and literacy plays in the lives of Arab women across Egypt, Yemen, Tunis, Jordan and Kuwait. She was named a 2014 TED Global Fellow, an honor that acknowledges social advocates, artists and other global leaders.
In her TED talk, Boushnak spoke about her “I Read, I Write” project and stated, "The Arab states are going through tremendous change, and the struggles women face are overwhelming. Just like the women I photographed, I had to overcome many barriers to becoming the photographer I am today, many people along the way telling me what I can and cannot do. Umm El-Saad, Asma and Fayza (some of the women she has photographed), and many women across the Arab world, show that it is possible to overcome barriers to education, which they know is the best means to a better future."
Her work also received an honorable mention at the 2013 UNICEF photo of the year and her photography has been showcased at numerous exhibitions across North America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Boushnak has further expanded her artistic impact in a collaboration with other female Arab photographers through Rawiya - a photography collective composed that seeks to show the Middle East from a different view.
Epsilon Alpha Sigma admires Boushnak’s ability and creativity in capturing the Arab world from an insider’s perspective and using photography as tool to shed light on gender and social issues in the Arab states.
You can view her “I Read I Write” project, along with her other projects here.
Her work also received an honorable mention at the 2013 UNICEF photo of the year and her photography has been showcased at numerous exhibitions across North America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Boushnak has further expanded her artistic impact in a collaboration with other female Arab photographers through Rawiya - a photography collective composed that seeks to show the Middle East from a different view.
Epsilon Alpha Sigma admires Boushnak’s ability and creativity in capturing the Arab world from an insider’s perspective and using photography as tool to shed light on gender and social issues in the Arab states.
You can view her “I Read I Write” project, along with her other projects here.
RSS Feed