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RIGHTS: Arab TV Soaps Reinforce Gender Bias

Suad Hamada

MANAMA, Jun 29 2009 (IPS) - Arabic TV channels wait for Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, to launch new soaps that generally portray women negatively. Ramadan starts this year at the end of August.

A still from Maryami, which won the 2009 Gulf Cooperation Council movie award. The lead role is played, quite unusually, by a woman. Credit: Al Omran

A still from Maryami, which won the 2009 Gulf Cooperation Council movie award. The lead role is played, quite unusually, by a woman. Credit: Al Omran

With families observing the dawn to dusk fast, the myriad entertainment channels in countries from Bahrain to Egypt are assured of a captive audience.

"The dramas that are shown on our channels during Ramadan are of abused women who cannot fight or evil females who cannot live without destroying others," points out Bahraini activist and writer, Karim Radhi.

The Arab world is rich with strong women who are fighting for better lives for themselves and for others, he says, very passionately, while urging TV companies to create empowering roles for women.

"I know that production houses promote negative images of women not because they are against them, but just to sell their soaps," he observes. "They can create a balance between what people want and (roles that) don’t stereotype women (as greedy, malicious, artificial or weak)."

The problem with gender stereotyping of women in the hugely popular TV dramas, he explains, is that it has a regressive impact on the growing efforts everywhere in the region to fight for gender equality, in politics and in the home.


"Many people underestimate TV dramas," he told IPS in an interview. "It enters every home. It is watched by family members of all ages all day long. No one is immune to its effect."

A study conducted between 2006 and 2007 by the University of Bahrain supports Radhi’s perspective on Arabic soaps. It was commissioned by the national Supreme Council for Women (SCW).

The findings stress the importance of ensuring that TV dramas are not disassociated from real life. It advises production companies to introduce strong women characters who can inspire social change and help women achieve the goals of empowerment.

"We cannot separate drama from our fights for better rights of women as drama reaches the masses and could indirectly change the perspective of viewers," general secretary of the SCW, Lulwa Al Awadhi, told the press while releasing the recommendations by the study in 2008.

"Reformation of the Arab drama could help us, activists, reach our goals faster," she adds.

Al Awadhi then quickly clarified, "We don’t want to control drama. Productions must create better images of women so ordinary people can through them understand the real strength and capabilities of Arab women."

The study analysed the portrayal of violence against women in TV soaps. Repeatedly the women are shown as weak and powerless.

Al Awadhi warned it may be encouraging a view that wife beating and abuse are acceptable, particularly among children who are vulnerable to being manipulated by TV.

"Children watching women in mothers’ roles being physically abused by their husbands without others intervening to help, may grow up believing that it is okay to abuse females," she explained.

The SCW supports the recommendations of the study, she told the press, especially the one that calls for a code of honour for gender discrimination-free TV dramas.

Mona Al Sawaf, psychological consultant at King Fahad Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is also a bitter critic of Arabic soaps. In an interview published in the U.K.-based Al Sharq Al Awsat newspaper she said entertainment companies focus on physical and psychological abuse of women in order to attract larger viewership.

"Psychologically those scenes could develop fear among the viewers at the beginning but such feelings turn to anxiety, anger, finally reaching the stage of indifference and apathy," she is quoted saying.

Al Sawaf echoes Al Awadhi’s views on the alarming impact of gender-insensitive soaps on children. She warns that young viewers grow up believing these are normal and acceptable and this could make young males more violent towards women and young females more submissive to violence.

"Unfortunately Gulf dramas focus on three aspects which are negative entertainment, presenting attractive topics regardless of their effects on society and the reinforcement of the idea that Gulf men are violent to women by nature," she observes.

Moreover, gender stereotyping in popular soaps also promotes an unhealthy relationship between couples and serves to justify the dominant power of men over women, Al Sawaf says. "Those dramas show ‘perfect women’ as tolerant and quiet all the time."

One dissenting voice though is that of Bahrain women’s activist and head of Hamad Town Women’s Society, Anisa Al Ruyaee. She told IPS that TV dramas reveal some and not all the suffering of women in the region. "Why should we close our eyes on our problems – violence against women is increasing day by day!" she says. "There is nothing wrong in showing it on TV as drama is only a reflection of our lives."

 
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