// The facial tattoos are often reflections of local astrological beliefs. The designs can be symbolic tributes to the stars, the moon or the sun depending on each woman’s personal preference. Although many women adorn their faces for cosmetic reasons, most believe that the intricate drawings connect them with the spiritual world and protect their households from evil forces. In either case, Yumna says, the tattoos are a manifestation of female strength: “These metaphysical connections translate as very powerful in these communities. Women are authoritative figures. They are the family’s decision-makers, they understand the land and animals’ needs best, they know how to use herbs to heal and they can cook. These are all essential survival skills.” The tattoos are symbols of matriarchal power in communities where women sustain the livelihood of their families. Men, Yumna says, are merely there to assist.
Face not only captures the Maghreb’s matriarchal communities, but also comments on the slow disappearance of female facial tattoos. “They started vanishing when capitalism was introduced to the region; corporate power is a dominantly male force. This in turn, saw the dissolution of the agricultural and natural power that women had controlled,” Yumna says. “It’s so easy for the media to tell people that these countries are backwards and that these women are repressed.” Yumna’s photography questions Western ‘progress’ and its orientalist preconceptions of Muslim communities by highlighting how the onset of capitalism has reorganised these traditional communities in line with a patriarchal social order. //
[Source: It’s Nice That; Yumna Al-Arashi ]