The Khaleejesque team continually ponders with the barrage of research, commercial trends, and click bait articles that have called ‘time of death’ on our respective field of publishing. With our collected knowledge, network, and experience in what is seemingly a “dying field,” we set to formulate our own research more focused on the MENA publishing scene on a global scale—namely, niche and independent publishing platforms, whether print or online, founded and staffed by young Arabs and Muslims from around the world.
As a platform that strives to amplify the voices of creatives and activists alike, we are dedicated to sharing our findings on a burgeoning field amongst creatives of the MENA region and beyond. As traditional publishing houses increasingly diminish, these independent platforms are paving the way for a new movement—heralding a cultural paradigm shift towards an egalitarian voice in publishing far from the constraints of traditional print and online media.
As a result, we’ve published a MENA Indie Zines and Platforms feature which can be accessed here.
In addition we’ve reached out to individual Zines who have shared with us their intricate workings and their missions and visions for their platform.
On behalf of 3asal Mag, Taiba Al-Nassar (Founder) has answered below.
- About the Platform:
My vision for 3asal was to create a space where Middle Eastern and North African women could celebrate each other’s beauty, talent, and resilience. My favorite part of the process has been meeting so many MENA girls from around the world that have come together to make this platform possible. It has been so special and empowering to work exclusively with girls that come from a collective set of backgrounds and experiences, knowing that we have absolutely no intentions outside of creating something beautiful for ourselves and our community. 3asal is important to us because we are creating the very images that were absent throughout our lives- Images of loud, visible, non-conforming, talented, beautiful MENA women.
- Content: what is your publication concerned with and what kind of content does it feature?
3asal’s purpose is to give the new generation of Middle Eastern and North African women a space that embraces us as we abandon conformity and break out of outdated molds. 3asal is an unapologetic celebration of MENA women, and all the beautiful complexities our identities encapsulate. Issue 1 features art, writing, photography, and fashion editorials from women around the region.
- The team behind the platform:
I started the platform individually, and have continued on that route when it comes to curating content and actually creating and producing the magazine. However, in regards to the creation of 3asal’s content itself, it has very much been a collaborative process, working with photographers and models, as well as accepting submissions from contributors.
- Work Space:
3asal is very much an international operation. We are scattered across the globe, and I wouldn’t have it otherwise. Accepting work from all over adds a beautiful and important diversity in not only aesthetics, but also experiences and voices, to our platform.
3asal-mag.myshopify.com
instagram.com/3asalmag
Images courtest of 3asal Mag.
