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.
SAUDI-ARABIA - Standing 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.
"A lot of female DJs have been coming up," Naif told AFP, adding that this has, over time, made audiences "more comfortable" seeing them on stage.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.
While her friends dreamed of careers as doctors and teachers, she knew she didn't have the patience for the schooling those paths required. His complaints got Naif's set shut down, but she doubts the scene would play out the same way today. "Now I bet that same guy, if he sees me, he's going to stand first in line just to watch."
She stuck with it anyway, developing her skills at private parties. Her big break came last year when she was invited to perform at MDLBeast Soundstorm, a festival in the Saudi capital Riyadh that drew more than 700,000 revellers for performances including a set by superstar French DJ David Guetta.
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