Female DJs becoming more common in Saudi cities - in pictures

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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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