Since its inception eight years ago, My.Kali magazine has tried time and again to introduce debate on women's rights, the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual, and Queer/Questioning) community, and other "controversial" topics that are usually relegated to taboo in the Arab and Middle Eastern household. Now, My.Kali's founder, Khalid Abdel-Hadi, wants to take the Amman-based online magazine to the core of its Middle East readership by introducing Arabic content.
This step, which Abdel-Hadi himself called "risky," will allow the magazine to tap into a major audience that's been alienated by the English content produced. It has already started to post bilingual updates on its social media accounts. Abdel-Hadi told Egypt Independent that so far the feedback had been positive.
"We’re throwing softballs once in a while and seeing how things go," he added.
While Jordan's society is known to be conservative, Abdel-Hadi told Egypt Independent that My.Kali succeeded in bringing the LGBTQ cause to local and international news.
"We're considered controversial in Jordan for simply breaking the stereotype and stepping out of norm," he said.
My.Kali capitalizes on conceptual visual work to break societal barriers and initiate numerous debates on a variety of taboo subjects. In its latest issue, MyKali featured Sarab Yasin, "Jordan's most transparent transgender," on its cover.
The expansion is set for October with Abdel-Hadi already seeking a team of writers and translators to manage the Arabic section of the magazine.