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Saudi women DJs go from hobbyists to headliners
Women DJs, an unthinkable phenomenon just a few years ago in the traditionally ultraconservative kingdom, are becoming a relatively common sight in its main cities.
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Behind the deck: Saudi DJ Leen Naif plays at a university event in Saudia Arabia's Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on May 26. (AFP/Fayez Nureldine)
S
tanding behind her control tower with headphones around her neck, Saudi DJ Leen Naif segues smoothly between pop hits and club tracks for a crowd of business-school graduates noshing on sushi.
The subdued scene is a far cry from the high-profile stages – a Formula 1 Grand Prix in Jeddah, Expo 2020 in Dubai – that have helped the 26-year-old, known as DJ Leen, make a name for herself on the Saudi music circuit.
Yet it captures an important milestone: Women DJs, an unthinkable phenomenon just a few years ago in the traditionally ultraconservative kingdom, are becoming a relatively common sight in its main cities.
These days they turn a few heads as, gig after gig, they go about making a living from what once was merely a pastime.
"A lot of female DJs have been coming up," Naif said, adding that this has, over time, made audiences "more comfortable" seeing them on stage.
"It's easier now than it has been."
Naif and her peers embody two major reforms championed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler: New opportunities for women and expanding entertainment options – notably music, which was once discouraged under Wahabism, a rigid Sunni version of Islam.
