From the series Saudi Tales of Love by Tasneem Alsultan

It has been over 40 years since feminist film critic Laura Mulvey coined the term 'male gaze' to underscore how the visual arts and literature portray the world, including women, from a largely masculine point of view. But consider any typical mainstream depiction of women today, and one would perhaps agree that the male gaze continues to be as conspicuous as ever. Photographing The Female, a transnational project and an ongoing exhibition in the city as part of the FOCUS festival, challenges this one-dimensional perspective by exploring female identity and representation in photography.