Scandal in Satwa: fashion shoot in Dubai stirs controversy

Scandal in Satwa: fashion shoot in Dubai stirs controversy

  DUBAI - A photo shoot in Dubai's Satwa area has stirred controversy after social media users slammed the photographer for allegedly exploiting the poor. The photos were taken in barbershops and stores in the neighbourhood and shows model Tala Samman posing with Satwa residents. One photo shows Samman standing on a chair behind the owner of a small shop, while another shows her sitting in a barber chair while a man gets his haircut done. Photograher Waleed Shah first posted the photos as Instagram stories, but later uploaded them to this Instagram feed. There, some users accused him of cultural appropriation and exploitation. Shah said there was no intended message behind the photos. In his blog, the Abu Dhabi-born Shah said he chose Satwa because it was familiar to him and reminded him of the Abu Dhabi area he grew up in during the 1990s. “Old Dubai, old Abu Dhabi – they are home for me,” he said. “I project the things that I do in my life on Khalifa Street in Abu Dhabi. I thought, what do I do? I go to a barber shop.” Other social media users have pointed out, however, that the people featured in Shah's photographs were entrepreneurs and not indigents. “I don’t perceive them as a lower social status,” said Jaffrey Bhai, Project Chaiwala founder, said in his podcast. “These people are making a very good living for themselves working with integrity so I think it’s the people who are looking at it and saying, 'there’s lower social status and big social divide', that’s where the problem possibly is.” The people featured in the photos taken in Shabab Al Satwa barbershop and Kahoor Ali Grocery told The National that the photographer and model were respectful. GAD/Expat 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