While other women have occasionally entered this Arab-world-wide Poetry writing and reading contest, she is the 1st to reach the finals, and she did it with fiery denunciations of anti-women culture and religious extremism.
In between scenes of her audition and on-stage performance, she shows us her teaching her daughter how to behave "properly" in Saudi Arabia so she would not attract attention. She also gives her view of how women's rights have eroded over the years. As Bedouins in the desert, practicality was paramount. As men moved to easier life in the cities, the restrictions on women grew. Eventually, though, it was the Saudi royal family that accepted religious extremism in return for continued political and economic power.
In between scenes of her audition and on-stage performance, she shows us her teaching her daughter how to behave "properly" in Saudi Arabia so she would not attract attention. She also gives her view of how women's rights have eroded over the years. As Bedouins in the desert, practicality was paramount. As men moved to easier life in the cities, the restrictions on women grew. Eventually, though, it was the Saudi royal family that accepted religious extremism in return for continued political and economic power.
