Female DJs becoming more common in Saudi cities - in pictures

Women are now able to make a living from what was once a pastime

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  Saudi DJ Leen Naif plays at a university event in Saudia Arabia's Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on May 26, 2022. - Women DJs, an unthinkable phenomenon just a few years ago in the traditionally ultraconservative Saudi kingdom, are becoming a relatively common sight in its main cities. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP)

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  Women DJs, an unthinkable phenomenon a few years ago in the traditionally conservative kingdom, are becoming a relatively common sight in its main cities.

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  Gig after gig, they go about making a living from what once was merely a pastime.

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  Lujain Albishi got her big break last year when she was invited to perform at MDLBeast Soundstorm, a festival in Riyadh.

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  Naif, pictured, was introduced to electronic music as a teenager by an uncle, and started wondering whether being a DJ was a viable job.

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  While her friends dreamed of careers as doctors and teachers, she knew she did not have the patience for the schooling those paths required.

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  For Naif, women DJs succeed because they are better than men at 'reading people' and playing what they want to hear.

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