Manal Al Dowayan was born and raised in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. She now works as a systems analyst and runs a photography business. Her background in photography is based on a variety of educational experiences in several countries. Her photographs focus on Saudi women and the environment that surrounds them. She is particularly interested in drawing upon the relationship between historical and contemporary female roles in the region. Her work has been published in several local and international magazines, and her photographs have been exhibited in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. She has lectured on the history of regional photography and the role of women in society at several art schools and institutions throughout the Arabian Gulf. Al Dowayan’s work was selected by the International Museum of Women in San Francisco for inclusion in the Imagining Ourselves anthology and was most recently included in the exhibition Nawafith (Windows) at The National Museum in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.