Hanouf AlFehaid
"Our Majlis"
My project explores the politics of the majlis, a traditional men-only sphere that is leveraged to create power over women within the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. Operating against the gender-exclusive program, my project reframes the majlis as a space that provides women with the freedom and privacy to enact agency. By providing alternative family structures through the program, the space operates against the current limitations of Arab society as reinforced through the process of defining kin. By designing the program as a support system — with accommodation for childcare, education, and mental health services — women using the space will feel empowered to focus on themselves. Using the majlis as a social, political, and cultural starting point, this space not only provokes existing gender dynamics but also creates an atmosphere of warmth and safety, offering women an opportunity to feel a heightened sense of awareness and the freedom to be.