Getting too close?

Olivia Arthur

© Olivia Arthur/Magnum Photos

When I am asked about my work, one of the questions that often comes up is 'How much difference does it make that I am a woman?' And I have to agree that it does make a huge difference, that plenty of the situations I have been in would not have been accessible to a man, or if a man had been present the atmosphere would have been very different.

Right now I am working in Saudi Arabia and for the first time, in a strange contradictory way, it seems actually to be a disadvantage to be able to get so close. I will try and explain...

Much of society here is still deeply conservative and lots of places and events are segregated, including weddings where two separate wedding parties are held. So when you are invited to a gathering at someone's house, all the men are kept away so that it can be a women- only event. As the women arrive they take off their abayas (the long black gown all women have to wear here), their headscarves, and niqab (the face covering that many also choose to wear) to reveal fancy clothes underneath. But, they only do this because there are no men present and so taking photographs for anything other than personal use is strictly forbidden. At wedding halls they even ban cameras altogether from the party because, due the ease of sharing digital photographs, there is a fear that men might see pictures of the women uncovered and dancing.

If a man turns up at an all-women gathering, everyone will grab something to make sure that they are suitably covered for the eyes of men. This happened every day at the photography workshop that I was giving when the male caterers came in to bring the lunch. Any pictures taken at other times during the workshop would have to be for personal use only.

This led me to the strange conclusion that it would actually be easier to be taking photographs as a man, because that way you could be sure that the women were covered as much as they would want to be for the eyes of men (there are also some women who don't choose to cover their clothes and their hair in mixed company). As a man the limits are clearly defined, but for me the lines between my personal and professional relationships with the women I meet are blurry.

Not wanting to abuse the trust of the women who have allowed me to see into their private world, I am faced with an unusual dilemma of how to take pictures of it.

Eid

Olivia Arthur

© Olivia Arthur/Magnum Photos

Since today is Eid, I just wanted to share this picture that I took in the summer in a small mosque in south London.

The picture is part of a new series I am working on called Second Generation, looking at the cultural conflicts for young people growing up in British-Asian communities in the UK.

I had been spending some time with an Afghan family in this part of London, who have been immensely open and generous to me. The eldest daughter Mojda is 13, she speaks perfect english and is just like any other British teenager, asking questions about which subjects to study at school and about what to wear to a party with her friends.
In contrast, her mother, who is just a year older than me, struggles with her english and is visibly frustrated that we can't be closer because of it.

After school every day the older children go along to the mosque for a Koran study class and they took me along with them. I took this picture while they showed me around after the class.

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