Banan Alawneh
Jordanian photographer and creative director, Banan Alawneh, was one of 19 female photographers selected to take part in Disney’s new photography campaign, #DreamBigPrincess.
The initiative was created in partnership with the United Nations Foundation programme Girl Up, to promote girls leadership around the world and shatter gender stereotypes that are used to hold them back.
“The idea that stories — whether real life or fictional, like those of Belle or Rapunzel — can inspire kids to follow their dreams is at the heart of the #DreamBigPrincess campaign,” Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media told Harper’s Bazaar Arabia.
The campaign features photographs of girls and young women who are challenging ideas of what it means to be female in their society. From coders, to footballers to conservationists - they highlight the amazing contributions girls can make to the world, if only they are given the chance.
Alawneh, who is one of the most famous female photographers in the Middle East, decided to photograph young girls in her native country of Jordan for the campaign. "When I was approached to be part of the #DreamBigPrincess initiative I thought of all the young girls who are underprivileged but had so much potential,” she told Harper’s Bazaar Arabia.
The photographer wanted to highlight the Queen Rania Family and Child Center and the way the creative activities it offers girls allows them to imagine a brighter future for themselves and their families.
“I was inspired by the community centre, which offers holistic services that aim to help children and strengthen families across Jordan,” she said. “Kids enrol in these activities to stimulate and express their feelings through art.”
As a woman in a male-dominated profession, Alawneh has experienced first-hand the difficulties girls face when pursuing their passions. But this never stopped her from working hard to make her dreams come true.
The photographic trailblazer has contributed to a variety of projects and is an accomplished graphic designer, prop stylist and art director. She is currently the fashion photographer of Jordan’s U Magazine.
"Dreaming big to me means setting high standards to the ideas I have and raising the bar to achieve them,” she said. “Nothing is too big to be accomplished."
