Mounia Atiga and Waad Bayou described a photoshoot that became an unexpected flashpoint (EP 18).
Waad participated in an "East meets West" photography project. The concept: wearing a traditional Libyan rida'a in iconic London locations. One of the shoots took place at Piccadilly Circus — a young Libyan woman in full traditional dress, standing in one of the most recognisable spots in the Western world.
During the shoot at Piccadilly, Ayman Al-Atar — a well-known Libyan singer — happened to walk past. They recognised each other. A photo was taken of the two of them together: Waad in her rida'a, Al-Atar in the background of central London. The image captured something unplanned — a collision of Libyan identity and Western geography that neither had orchestrated.
The photo went viral. The comments were brutal. People attacked Waad's appearance, her clothing, the context, her decision to wear traditional dress in a public Western space. The criticism came from multiple directions — some objected to the display of Libyan culture in a foreign setting, others to the perceived immodesty, others simply to the visibility itself.
Waad's response was to laugh. She did not engage with the comments, did not defend the project, did not apologise. She found the intensity of the reaction disproportionate and absurd.
Mounia, watching her daughter handle the backlash, saw confirmation of the parenting approach she had spent years building: raise someone who does not perform for others and does not collapse under judgement.