Dazed Mena #2

Dazed MENA is the first youth-community-focused fashion, style and culture magazine in the Middle East and North Africa, led by editor-in-chief Ahmad Swaid and a team of homegrown creative talent from across the region including creative director Chndy, fashion director Omaima Salem, content director Fady Nageeb and deputy editor Sarra Alyyan. Together, this team represents a cultural shift in how stories are told and how communities will be connected throughout the region.

While each story in Issue 02 is different, they are all bound by a common thread: love. “Not the kind of love sold to us in slogans. Love as faith. Love as hope. Love as resistance. Love as authenticity. It is a love that asks us to imagine,” Swaid asserts. “One important story is ‘Al Natara’ by photographer Maen Hammad. It’s about the night watchers in Palestine who stay awake to keep their homes from being taken by settlers and IOF soldiers. Maen encountered the IOF while shooting this story; he got a shot of them while he was being questioned.” Within the issue, several politically significant features are highlighted, with another one focusing on queer visibility and safety, particularly in Saudi Arabia.