Deena Mohamed Experiencing the Egyptian revolution as a teenager meant living through a period of history that witnessed my generation both shaping and being shaped by momentous events. This dynamic also impacted a webcomic I created in June 2013, at the age of eighteen, originally in English and later in both English and Arabic. The current essay reflects on the role played by language and translation in radically transforming the content of this webcomic, whose purpose varied as its audience grew and encompassed different constituencies.
Aquila By Women's Voices Now, Wednesday, 18th February 2015 In the late 1980s, feminism in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) context gained prominence in international debate. Research addressed “the status of women in Muslim countries through two frames: the inhibiting effects of Islam and the potential for reform through norms building.” Many contemporary scholars concluded, “Islam, specifically the prevailing interpretations of Islamic law (Shari’a),” the prevalent cultural traditions enshrined within this religion, and the attitudes it informs and fosters reinforce gender inequality in Muslim countries.
Aquila By Women's Voices Now, Wednesday, 18th February 2015 In the late 1980s, feminism in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) context gained prominence in international debate. Research addressed “the status of women in Muslim countries through two frames: the inhibiting effects of Islam and the potential for reform through norms building.” Many contemporary scholars concluded, “Islam, specifically the prevailing interpretations of Islamic law (Shari’a),” the prevalent cultural traditions enshrined within this religion, and the attitudes it informs and fosters reinforce gender inequality in Muslim countries.
< The Daily Beast, KICKASS COMICS 09.22.13 Meet Egypt's newest comic superheroine: she wears a hijab, she has special powers, and she really, really doesn't like to be sexually harassed. On a fine Egyptian day, a woman who walks alone in the street is harassed by a man who has been following her. “Nice curves, gorgeous,” he says, before his hand reaches for her bottom. The woman turns around, and in shock, she screams “Stop him.
Muftah , September 23rd, 2013 In Muftah’s on-going podcast series, we speak with Deena Mohamed, the creator of Qahera, a hijabi super-heroine who combats Islamophobia and misogyny. Since publishing the first iteration of Qahera in June of 2013, Deena has received an overwhelmingly positive response to the comic strip, which is published in both English and Arabic. A look at some of the Qahera comic strips created so far makes clear that this hijabi superheroine is challenging perceptions about Islam, women, and the hijab, and breaking down cultural, social, and gender-based assumptions inside and outside the Middle East.
Muftah , September 23rd, 2013 In Muftah’s on-going podcast series, we speak with Deena Mohamed, the creator of Qahera, a hijabi super-heroine who combats Islamophobia and misogyny. Since publishing the first iteration of Qahera in June of 2013, Deena has received an overwhelmingly positive response to the comic strip, which is published in both English and Arabic. A look at some of the Qahera comic strips created so far makes clear that this hijabi superheroine is challenging perceptions about Islam, women, and the hijab, and breaking down cultural, social, and gender-based assumptions inside and outside the Middle East.
By Dina Demrdash, BBC Arabic, Cairo 8 December 2013 She's got comic strip superpowers, fights for justice and gives bad guys a hard time. If this makes you think of Catwoman, then think again - for this is a new kind of superheroine with a visible difference.
Meet Qahera - the hijab-wearing Egyptian comic-book character fighting back against crime and prejudice. She is the brainchild of a young Egyptian artist who created the first ever Egyptian superhero in a web comic, and its picking up a growing fanbase.
By Dina Demrdash, BBC Arabic, Cairo 8 December 2013 She's got comic strip superpowers, fights for justice and gives bad guys a hard time. If this makes you think of Catwoman, then think again - for this is a new kind of superheroine with a visible difference.
Meet Qahera - the hijab-wearing Egyptian comic-book character fighting back against crime and prejudice. She is the brainchild of a young Egyptian artist who created the first ever Egyptian superhero in a web comic, and its picking up a growing fanbase.
July 29, 2014 Column » Comics & Dialogue: Islam in Graphic Novels by A. DAVID LEWIS for ISLAMiCommentary Deena Mohamed, a nineteen-year-old Egyptian graphic design student, does more than draw or doodle: She is creating a legend. Based partially on her own and her friends’ experiences within Egyptian culture, Mohamed chose to combat sexism and harassment with her hijab-clad superheroine Qahera, whose online webcomic inches closer daily to nearly one-million viewers.
July 29, 2014 Column » Comics & Dialogue: Islam in Graphic Novels by A. DAVID LEWIS for ISLAMiCommentary Deena Mohamed, a nineteen-year-old Egyptian graphic design student, does more than draw or doodle: She is creating a legend. Based partially on her own and her friends’ experiences within Egyptian culture, Mohamed chose to combat sexism and harassment with her hijab-clad superheroine Qahera, whose online webcomic inches closer daily to nearly one-million viewers.
