Hissa Hilal

Hissa Hilal is a Saudi Arabian poet. Previously published under the pseudonym Remia ,

Early life and work Hilal, whose full name is Hissa Hilal al-Malihan al-‘Unzi, She went to high school in Bahrain, where she encountered classic English literature, but was not able to attend university for financial reasons. She published two poetry collections, The Language of the Sand Heap (1993) and The Bedewed One. During this time, she wrote under the pseudonym "Remia." Hilal's most famous poem from the competition was "The Chaos of Fatwas." The poem was seen as responding specifically to recent remarks by Sheikh Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak which called for supporters of sex integration to be put to death. Hilal received death threats online for this poem. She says that she uses provocative language and imagery in her poems, such as a description of fundamentalist clerics that evokes an image of suicide bombers, because "extremism is so strong and you cannot talk about it in any other way."

Hilal's poem in the penultimate round said that media, a topic which the judges chose, could be used to fight ignorance and censorship. "I join the birds of light in a battle of enlightenment, we want to rise with a world that is fighting its ignorance."

Hilal came in third place in the competition, winning 3 million dirhams and prompting more women audience members to attend the final than ever before. Her final entry was an address from the poet to her poems: "You have a waving wing / You will not be betrayed by your open skies."

The Independent writes that "Million's Poet is a particularly remarkable venue for her message given the conservatism of its format," which promotes traditional poetry and may reach a wider and more conservative audience than more Western-influenced talent shows; because the genre is respected and traditional, the content is able to push boundaries.

Hilal's appearance on the program wearing niqab was noted in the media. She stated that she did this so that her male relatives, who support her poetry, would not be criticized by other men, and that she hoped her daughters would not have to cover their faces. The book contains poems by fifty women poets from different Bedouin tribes and is made up of two sections, "The Right of Choice" and "Rejection and Resistance."