Female cartoonist's provocative work challenges Saudi society

cnn ^ | October 28, 2009 | Olivia Sterns,

[JoeProBono]

LONDON, England For Saudi Arabia's lone female cartoonist drawing is more than just satire, it's "a duty." "I think men have put women in an unfavorable position in this part of the world. They've put women in an oppressive situation," said Hana Hajjar, who works for the English-language newspaper Arab News.

"I feel it is my duty towards women to speak out on their behalf, because I have the tools and venue to do so," she told CNN. Hajjar's drawings both challenge gender roles and critique political policy, often depicting inequality between the sexes and support for the Palestinian people, but she is careful not to push too far.

"I like to draw thought-provoking and argument-provoking caricatures. I like to see how much I can push people to think, but am mindful never to cross societal red lines," she said. For a woman in the conservative kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be dealing with such issues represents a significant break in cultural convention.

"The general attitude in Saudi about caricaturists is that women don't have the stamina and inspiration to last long in this field, unlike their male counterparts,"

Hajjar explained, adding that luckily her parents had always been supportive of her career.

[JoeProBono]

[Ronin]

The male heart is shaped wrong.

[RobRoy]

>>The male heart is shaped wrong.<<

I noticed that too. She has the eyes in the wrong place.

[potlatch]

Interesting, and she is brave to be doing this.
I like her drawing and colors. The plunger bit is cute.

[devolve]

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bump

[potlatch]

LOLOL......
Well, you liked ‘my’ plunger man because it had Obama’s head below it!

[devolve]

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Green Giant graphics in the /algore/ folder now

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks JoeProBono.

[JoeProBono]