Who am I if I don’t swim in an ocean of scarlet?
Who am I if my hips don’t break for your lives?
I took a vow against my will before my first breath , devoting myself to your feverish ideology of the suppression you disguised in honey and petals
I am favored but shunned if I take pride in it
I am desired but dishonored if I act on it
I have burnt my tongue with muffled pleads that scarred my forbidden roars
You ask me who am I?
My name is woman
من أنا إن لم أسبح في محيط قرمزي؟
من أنا إن لم يتكسر جسدي من أجل حياتك؟
كتبت نذري على الجدار قبل أولى أنفاسيلإن أكرس نفسي لأيديولوجيتك المحمومة التي تتخفى مابين بتلات الزهور والعسل
أنا المختلفة، المميزة، ولكني منبوذة إن فاخرت بذلك
أنا مرغوبة ولكني أشعر بالعار لو اتبعت سجيتي
أحرقت لساني بمرافعات مكتومة أضنت زئيري المحرم
أتسأل من أنا؟
أنا اسمي امرأة
MAHA AL ASAKER
Maha Alasaker is a visual artist based in Kuwait. She is a 2014 graduate from the International Center of Photography.
Through her artwork, Maha tries to gain a deeper understanding of herself while attempting to engage issues of culture and identity. Her curiosity centers around how a woman’s upbringing affects identity and self-worth.
Maha’s projects has been displayed in numerous exhibitions in New York City and London, as well as the United Arab of Emirate and Kuwait. Magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Marie Claire and Rolling Stone have featured her work.
In 2019 , Maha published her first photo book,“ Women of Kuwait”, which was then acquired by the Getty Research Institute and The Thomas J. Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art .
