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Deena Mohamed

ディーナ・モハメド

Deena Mohamed

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
Egypt
Nationality
Egypt
Languages
Arabic, English
Residence History
Cairo, Egypt (born/active)

Career

Occupations
Graphic designer, Graphic novelist, Illustrator, Comic artist
Active Years
2013-

Awards

Best Graphic Novel and Grand Prize (Cairo Comix Festival)
2017
Work: Shubeik Lubeik (volume 1)
Category: グラフィックノベル
Organization: Cairo Comix Festival
Result: 受賞
MacDowell Fellowship (Literature)
2019
Category: フェローシップ
Organization: MacDowell
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Shubeik Lubeik (volume 1)

2018 Urban fantasy (graphic novel)

The first installment follows Aziza, a poor woman in a modern-day Egypt where wishes are sold in bottles. Opposed to using wishes, Aziza acquires a powerful discounted wish after her husband's death and must overcome institutional hurdles to use it.

wishes and consequencessocial inequalityinstitutions and resistance
Translations
  • Included in English collected edition

Shubeik Lubeik (volume 2)

2019 Urban fantasy (graphic novel)

The second installment centers on Nour, a wealthy nonbinary university student in Cairo who purchases a powerful wish and struggles to decide what will bring them happiness.

gender and selfmental healthdesire and choice
Translations
  • Included in English collected edition

Shubeik Lubeik (volume 3)

2021 Urban fantasy (graphic novel)

The third installment returns to the kiosk owner Shokry, exploring his religious opposition to wishes, his friend's terminal illness, and the wider history of colonial exploitation of wishes as resources.

religion and beliefdeath and losseffects of colonialism
Translations
  • Included in English collected edition

Qahera (webcomic)

2013 Webcomic / Superhero

Her debut webcomic published in 2013 at age 18. It follows a nameless hijab-clad Egyptian female superhero confronting social issues faced by women in the Arab world, criticizing sexual harassment, police corruption, retrograde clerics, and Western feminism.

feminismsocial justiceexpression and identity
Translations
  • Originally published in English, later also in Arabic

Bibliography

  • Shubeik Lubeik 1 (Dar al-Mahrousa, Cairo, 2018)
  • Shubeik Lubeik 2 (Dar al-Mahrousa, Cairo, 2019)
  • Shubeik Lubeik 3 (Dar al-Mahrousa, Cairo, 2021)
  • Your Wish Is My Command / Shubeik Lubeik (English collected edition, Pantheon/Granta, 2023)

Adaptations

  • Google Doodle (Mufidah Abdul Rahman's birthday doodle, 2020)
  • YouTube 'Yoodle' celebrating kunafa (2025; shown in Middle East, Europe, Australia, New Zealand)
  • Harassmap Consent Campaign (informational comics, 2018)

Translations by Author

  • Self-translation into English (Deena Mohamed translated the collected Shubeik Lubeik)

Translations of Works

  • Your Wish Is My Command (English collected edition of Shubeik Lubeik, 2023)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Clear, flat-line artwork with flat color palettesConcise, didactic paneling to communicate informationDepicts social issues through everyday scenes
Recurring Motifs
wishes (bottles)kiosks / urban landscapesfemale perspectives and feminismreligious belief and conflictmovement and urban life

Legacy

Deena Mohamed is an internationally recognized graphic novelist and illustrator who addresses social issues in modern Egypt and the Arab world. Her Shubeik Lubeik trilogy and the webcomic Qahera have made Arab women's experiences and feminism more visible and influential to broad audiences.

In Popular Culture

  • Viral spread of the webcomic Qahera (large readership in a short period)
  • Commissioned for a Google Doodle (Mufidah Abdul Rahman) and a YouTube Yoodle

Trivia

  • Debuted with the webcomic Qahera at age 18.
  • Qahera attracted roughly 500,000 unique visitors during a peak period soon after launch.
  • Shubeik Lubeik was originally published in Arabic and later translated; the English collected edition was published in 2023.
  • Commissioned for a Google Doodle in 2020 and a YouTube 'Yoodle' in 2025 (kunafa-themed).