KUWAIT: Al-Sada (The Echo) program broadcast by LOYAC’s Academy for Perfromace Arts (LAPA) on Instagram and presented by LOYAC chairperson, Farea Al-Saqqaf, recently hosted the Saudi writer and media figure Badriya Al-Bisher.

Speaking about the current curfew, Al-Bisher said that it was a gift and blessing for her as a writer. “The corona crisis invokes two types of reactions; from people who will have learned their lesson and realized that the environment is healing up as if COVID-19 was a universal message in this regard. In addition, family members are back to face to face contacts for the first time in a long while. On the other hand, some people will never learn the lesson,” she explained, pointing that the crisis made her more introvert and realize that humans have so many undiscovered treasures within. “We have been always seeking happiness outside while everything is deep within our souls,” she underlined.

Speaking about her marital life with her husband; Saudi comedian Nasser Al-Qasabi, Al-Bisher said that their journey together started at a young age and that they always have an open dialogue. “He always reads my writings and I always follow up his works,” she said, noting Al-Qasabi always portrays both opinions in any argument such as the issue of having women wear Abaya presented in his recent series ‘Exit 7’ which showed a father and his young daughter’s different points of view in this regard and whether the society would cope with various changes.

“Creativity is writers’ greatest incentive. They write to shake us and shift us from mind to heart despite the modern trend that worships mind,” she said, noting that novels enrich readers’ awareness with spiritual and materialistic experiences.

Commenting on the controversy caused by her novel ‘THURSDAY VISITORS’, Al-Bisher said that the main stream in it was the main figure’s rebellion against her mother and what she believes wrong, until she makes the same mistakes her mother did and finally understands her and chooses a different path. “What disturbed me most in those who criticized the novel is that they failed to notice the issue of marriage of little girls… However, the community of readers is so wide and includes people who approve and others who disapprove,” she explained, noting that art can fight extremism and paves the way for political decision-making.
Speaking about her experience as a mother, Al-Bisher stressed that it made her grow more mature, loving, merciful and adaptable. “Our kids are more open to humanity and made use of modern technology in communicating. I envy them for the swiftness of their lives and rejection to barriers, racism and rejection,” Al-Bisher concluded.