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Yasmina: Photographer explores the changing roles of women in society

Women have been given many different labels throughout history – not all of them positive. LA-based photographer Fayrouz Ftouni explores this through her latest photographic series, Yasmina.

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Two women sit in the front seat of a vintage car; the driver in a red patterned dress gazes ahead while her passenger looks pensively out of the window, with an arid landscape visible beyond

She explains: "The role of women in society has been subjected to different theologies and cultures across time, mostly characterised by marginalisation.

"In my series, Yasmina, I travel back in time to my Grandmother’s era to explore the strength and spirit of Lebanese women of the time.

"I created the character of Yasmina as a symbol of the expectations set for women - endurance, anguish, and strength. In this era, women were confined to the home, to cooking and cleaning, to helping and nurturing.

"But where was the space for their ideas? Their desires? Their thoughts? Yasmina is set at the precipice of a new world, a time of awakening, where women like her learn how to make space for their own self-discovery."

Discover more at fayrouzftouni.com.

All images courtesy of Fayrouz Ftouni

Four women and a girl sit at a dining table with food and place settings, in a scene from photographer Fayrouz Ftouni's series Yasmina exploring Lebanese women's roles in society
Woman and young girl sit at a wooden table examining an open book and loose photographs, exploring memories and discovery together
An elderly man in a pink headscarf lies on a beige sofa while a young woman in a cream dress sits beside him holding his hand, in a scene from photographer Fayrouz Ftouni's series Yasmina
Woman in black velvet top looking downward beside a wooden desk with vintage television and framed photograph, windows with garden visible behind
Woman in black dress stands beside another woman sleeping on a bed in a sunlit bedroom in Fayrouz Ftouni's Yasmina series
An adult and child stand beside a black vintage car in a dry, grassy landscape, with a woman visible inside the vehicle's window
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