Tasneem Alsultan

Vocation

Lifestyle

Saudi-American photographer particularly known for her work on gender and social issues in Saudi Arabia and as a member of the Rawiya women’s Middle Eastern photography collective. She has covered stories in Saudi Arabia for both Vogue Italia and Vanity Fair Italy and has herself been featured in publications such as the New York Times Lens Blog. She completed the majority of early schooling in the U.K., then returned to Saudi Arabia at the age of 16, earning her undergraduate degree at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. She also holds a master's degree in social linguistics and anthropology from Portland State University. After graduating, she taught English courses at colleges in both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia until taking up documentary photography full-time. One of her most popular projects, Saudi Tales of Love, explores the realities of marriage, divorce, and widowhood in Saudi Arabia through the eyes of Saudi women. Alsultan has mentioned that the project was partly influenced by her own personal experience with arranged marriage at the age of 17, which eventually ended in divorce. Alsultan also has a personal photography business where she photographs Saudi weddings. She has recently extended her social documentary photography to Kuwait, where she is currently working on a project that focuses on capturing the unique challenges facing LGBTQ individuals in the country. Link to Wikipedia biography