"50 Cartoons and More on Women " by Doaa el-Adl

From Fast Company.

Egyptian artist Doaa el-Adl published last March the first caricature book (translated into English and French) dealing with controversial issues facing women in Egypt and The Middle East.

El-Adl is considered one of her country’s most famous cartoonists for her creatively critical depictions of political and social concerns, such as government corruption and female genital mutilation. 

Back in 2012, she was actually charged with blasphemy for a cartoon that appeared in the Al Masry Al Youm newspaper.

You would have never been expelled from heaven had you voted in favour of the referendum!

But whatever pushback el-Adl has received, there’s been accolades to cushion her, namely being the first woman to receive the Egyptian Journalists’ Syndicate’s Journalistic Distinction award for caricature in 2009 and being one of BBC’s 100 Women of 2016 honorees.

“At the beginning of my career, I was not aware of what my role should be. But by the time I realized that, I knew I had to make a difference as a female cartoonist,” 

“That’s why the women’s causes depicted in my cartoons are an integral part of me, as I faced many of these situations myself.”

Here is a small sample from Doaa's "50 Cartoons and More on Women ":

Despite the widespread phenomenon, in impoverished villages, of young girls marrying wealthy Arabs or foreigners for a short period and then getting divorced, the Egyptian government did little but amend the law on marriage. The foreign husband must now pay a sum of 50,000 pounds to the Egyptian wife if he is 25 years older than her at the time of the marriage contract.

Check out more of el-Adl’s work here.