Riham El Hour (Arabic: ريهام الحر, born March 8, 1977[1]), is a cartoonist from Morocco. She was first woman to join the Union of Moroccan Professional Caricaturists. She was named one of BBC's 100 women of 2016.[2][3] She uses her cartoons to speak for women and against male guardianship laws.[4]
Life
Riham was born in Kenitra in Morocco. Her family is Palestinian. She received a bachelor's degree in Arabic language and literature from the Faculty of Arts in Kenitra.[5]
Work
In 2000 Riham won UNESCO's Palestine Prize in an international competition. In 2002, she participated in the national days of Moroccan caricature, as the first woman caricaturist of Morocco. In 2005 and 2006 she received a prize at caricatures exhibitions in Damascus, Syria. In 2007, she represented Morocco at the Santomera exhibition in Spain.[6][7]
After she won the UNESCO competition, Riham met Larbi Sebbone, a well-known Moroccan caricaturist. Larbi encouraged her to draw more. Her first drawings were in Al Alam, a Moroccan newspaper in the Arabic language, and in Al Mintaka, a local Kenitra newspaper. Then she drew for the women's magazine Citadines. [8] In 2006 she worked in the national press. She worked with newspapers, magazines and women's magazines.[6] By 2010 she was considered part of the "Syriacartoon family".[9] In October 2011, she started work with the Arabic version of Likolli Nissae.[6] Finally she went to work for Rissalat Al Ouma, a newspaper in Casablanca.[8]
