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Tag: Art & Advocacy

Unit 2: Resilience and Resistance – Resistance: Interpreting the Story and Art of a Saudi Woman

Time Frame

  • 2 class periods 

Materials

  • Green Card Voices – Hend Al-Mansour’s video
  • Graphic Organizer: Challenge/Restriction → Action → Outcome/Opportunity
  • Hend’s Women of Arabia series
  • Vocabulary and Definitions Handout

Connections to the 7 Cs of Ethnic Studies

  • Challenge: imperialist/colonial hegemonic beliefs and practices on ideological, institutional, interpersonal, and internalized levels
  • Conceptualize: imagine and build new possibilities for post-imperial life that promote collective narratives of transformative resistance, critical hope, and radical healing

Instruction (ICCR)

Day 1 – Hend’s Story, Context, and Understanding Resistance

Ignite 

Share With Students: 

Today’s lesson includes discussions involving gender restrictions, migration, illness, identity, and overcoming challenges. You may connect to these themes in different ways. Please participate in ways that feel comfortable and let me know if you need support.

Quick Write

Think about a moment when you questioned something. It could be that you broke a rule, or you may have done something about an objection you had to something you had been told. 

Choose one prompt:

  • Explain a time when you felt something was unfair. 
  • Have you ever decided to do something (act on, speak up, dress up, believe in, or respond to) that was against a rule because you were trying to question it or didn’t believe in it?

Explain to Students: 

Resistance can take many forms. It is not only protesting or breaking rules. Resistance can include pursuing education, speaking a heritage language, wearing cultural clothing, preserving traditions, creating art, or speaking up for others.

Chunk: Historical and Cultural Context

Saudi Arabia is a country in the Middle East, located on the Arabian Peninsula. It is one of the largest countries in the Arab world and is home to Islam’s two holiest cities: Mecca and Medina. Saudi Arabia has been governed by Islamic law, which has historically shaped rules around gender, education, and public life. 

For most of the 20th century, girls in Saudi Arabia were not allowed to attend school. Public education for girls only began in 1960, the same year Hend was born. This means that Hend’s generation was among the very first women in Saudi Arabia to have the legal right to attend school. Her mother’s generation had no such opportunity. 

Women in Saudi Arabia were also not allowed to drive until 2018, just a few years ago. For decades, women needed a male guardian’s permission to travel, work, or make major life decisions. These restrictions shaped the lives of millions of women, including Hend. 

The abaya is a long, loose robe worn by women in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Arab world. In Saudi Arabia, women were historically required to wear the abaya in public, along with a face covering called a niqab. Hend’s artwork often depicts women in abayas as a way of telling their stories and honoring their experiences. Arabic is the official language of Saudi Arabia. 

The name Hend (هند) is a traditional Arabic name with ancient roots; it was the name of a famous Arab woman warrior. Names in Arab culture often carry deep historical and cultural meaning.

Briefly Introduce:

  • Saudi Arabia during Hend’s childhood.
  • Why some women traveled abroad for educational opportunities.
  • Why Egypt became an educational destination for some Arab families.
  • Examples of changes and reforms related to women’s opportunities across the Arab world.

Show:

  • Map of Saudi Arabia
  • Map of Egypt
  • Timeline of Hend’s journey

Vocabulary Introduction

Distribute Vocabulary and Definitions Handout before viewing Hend’s video. Review each word, discuss the definition, “Connect It” statement, and Critical Question. Students should keep the handout on their desks during all activities.

Arabic Language Connection

Introduce simple Arabic words related to the lesson:

  • حرية (Huriya) – Freedom
  • كرامة (Karama) – Dignity
  • تعليم (Taelim) – Education
  • صوت (Sawt) – Voice

Practice pronunciation and discuss how these ideas connect to resistance.

Prepare for Viewing

Tell students their job is to listen for:

  • Which countries did Hend migrate to, and why?
  • What challenges did she face?
  • How did she respond or resist these restrictions?
  • What opportunities came from these challenges?

Teacher Key – Expected Student Responses 

Which countries did Hend migrate to, and why?

  • Saudi Arabia (born/raised/went to girls’ school)
  • Egypt (went to medical school for seven years because there wasn’t any in Saudi Arabia)
  • US (developed cancer, got treatment, then pursued art, which was her true passion)

What challenges did she face? How did she respond or resist these restrictions?

  • No girls’ schools, no medical school.
  • She went to Egypt for educational opportunities.
  • She was expected to practice as a doctor in the US, but ended up pursuing art after her cancer diagnosis and treatment.

What opportunities came from these challenges?

  • Opportunity to travel, obtain a medical degree, get cancer treatment, marry her husband, and become an artist.
  • Her mission is to “give voice to artists who came from the Middle East” and “to give the power of the woman,” especially those who influenced her in childhood. 

Watch Hend’s Video

First Viewing

Tell students to watch without writing, and just focus on understanding the story.

Second Viewing

Play the video a second time. Draw the graphic organizer chart on the whiteboard as seen below, then fill it out using words or short phrases. Complete one example together as a class before students work independently.

Stop at certain timestamps of Hend’s video to help students.

Outcome or Opportunities

Action or Resistance

Challenge or Restriction
     
     

Reflection

Share one example:

  • One challenge or restriction
  • One action or resistance
  • One outcome or opportunity

Sentence Stems: 

  • One challenge was . . .
  • She responded by . . .
  • This led to . . .

Note: If a student does not point it out, the teacher should explicitly teach about the outcome and opportunity of Hend being an artist upon moving to the US. She uses art as a form of resistance (speaking up) in order to give power to Arab women and Arab artists. 

Day 2 – Art as Resistance and Interpreting Women’s Voices

Warm-Up Review – Partner Discussion

  • What challenge did Hend face?
  • What action did she take?
  • What opportunities came from her choices?
  • What does resistance mean in Hend’s story?

Chew – Introduction to Art as Resistance

Explain to Student

Art has been used as a form of resistance across many cultures. In Arab communities, resistance can be expressed through:

  • Poetry
  • Oral storytelling
  • Music
  • Visual art
  • Cultural traditions

When Hend came to the US, she had an “aha” moment after her cancer diagnosis and treatment. She realized she wanted to give a voice to artists who came from the Middle East and “to give the power of the woman”; her inspiration is the women who influenced her in childhood. She went to school at MCAD and pursued becoming an artist. 

The video shows one of the artworks in Hend’s “Women in Arabia” series. With a partner, try to interpret what you think the message(s) of this artwork might be. How does it show either challenges/restrictions, an action (resistance), or an opportunity?

Student Personalization – Choose One Option

Option A: Analyze an Artwork

Choose an artwork from Hend’s Women of Arabia series. Interpret the challenge/restriction, the action (resistance), and/or an opportunity in the artwork. 

Option B: Honor a Woman

Choose a woman from your life who has either inspired you, faced challenges/restrictions, resisted (taken action), or provided opportunities. Create a picture of her (paper or digital) or find images that represent her and what she stands for.

Sentence Stems

Restriction or Challenge

  • In this artwork, the restriction or challenge is shown by . . .
  • This image suggests that women were not able to . . .
  • The artist is showing a limitation where . . .

Resistance (Action)

  • The action or resistance shown is . . .
  • The woman/figure responds by . . .
  • This part of the artwork shows resistance because . . .

Outcome or Opportunity

  • As a result, this creates an opportunity for . . .
  • This could lead to . . .
  • The message suggests that new possibilities include . . .

Review: Exit Ticket

Complete one statement

  • One way Hend used resistance was . . .
  • Art can be a form of resistance because . . .
  • In Hend’s story/art, resistance looked like . . .
  • This matters because . . .

Multilingual and ELL Support

  • Use sentence stems for discussions and writing.
  • Allow the use of heritage language captions on videos.
  • Include timestamps to help students fill out the graphic organizer.
  • Allow discussions in students’ home language. 
  • Allow any writing to be in the students’ home language first.
  • Allow fill-in-the-blanks when writing, as needed.

Resource List