by Rosie Alfatlawi
With half-a-million subscribers on Youtube, and a Twitter following of nearly 17,000, Hessa al-Awad is a rising star on the vlogging scene.
However, unlike other beauty vloggers making the most of millennials’ insatiable taste for online tutorials, al-Awad covers her face.
The 25-year-old Saudi from Damam wears the Islamic niqab face covering adopted by many women throughout the Gulf, but that has not stopped her gaining over 60 million views on Youtube.
In fact, al-Awad has told al-Arabiya that her goal is to educate people that the niqab and the hijab are not barriers to social participation.
Her videos mostly focus on manicuring and nail art, but also include demonstrations of hairstyles, for which she uses a dummy.
Al-Awad is not alone in Saudi Arabia in exploiting the benefits of the video-sharing website.
According to analytics agency Tubular Labs, Saudi Arabia has the highest Youtube watch time per capita in the world. On a recent list of the Arab world’s most followed Youtubers compiled by Forbes magazine, eight out of the top ten were Saudis.
Still, it is not always straightforward for Saudi women to appear on camera. Social conservatism prevails in the Kingdom where most adhere to a strict interpretation of Islam.
Al-Awad told CNN last month that "At the beginning I was afraid to appear on screen.”
“It was rare for a Saudi girl to appear on social media platforms and talk about things, (but) with time the fear disappeared, thanks to my family's support."
With more than half the Saudi population under the age of 25, and given the restrictions of life in a hyper-conservative society, it should be expected that its online stars like Al-Awad will only increase - in number and in popularity!
RA
