People Features
Saudis angry at Oprah Winfrey show on battered TV star
By Anne-Beatrice Clasmann Jul 8, 2005, 10:52 GMT
Cairo - U.S. talk show presenter Oprah Winfrey has generated a wave of outraged protest in Saudi Arabia with a report on Saudi television presenter Rania al-Bas, who was beaten almost to death by her husband last year.
The Saudis are particularly enraged because Winfrey called out to her viewers at the end of the June broadcast: "Thank God we live in America."
The journalist Essam al-Ghalib, who had helped Winfrey's team last year to secure an interview with al-Bas, wrote Thursday in the newspaper Arab News: "Oprah, please don't call me again."
Al-Ghalib accused the star U.S. presenter of using both him and Al-Bas to create a false picture of Saudi society through the show, which is generally seen by Saudis through the MBC network with Arab subtitles.
He said the Oprah Winfrey show producers had led both of them to believe the theme of the show would be victims of family violence all over the world.
What happened to the attractive Saudi presenter was in fact shown along with similar stories on women from a variety of countries, but these women all had something positive to report about the events.
The Saudi story was the only one that was entirely tragic.
More than 2,300 Saudis, many of them women, have written to the broadcaster to protest. They are not critical of the fact that Al-Bas' story, which caused considerable controversy in the Saudi media last year, was told.
But they are opposed to what they see as the presentation of the cliche of the suppressed Saudi woman.
Abeer Mishchas, a journalist who has often come out in her columns in favour of rights for Saudi women, was also appalled.
"Every Saudi who saw the broadcast was repelled by the negative light in which Saudi women were shown in contrast to all the others, as though the aim was to say: 'Hello everyone, I am a Saudi woman and come from a country where wife-beating is a national sport'," she wrote.
Al-Bas is the person most damaged by the uproar over the broadcast. She went through the ordeal last year of having horrific photographs of her battered face while in hospital published last year.
Her divorce has since been finalized, and she has secured custody of her two children, but many conservative Saudis were critical of her decision to go public.
By contrast, many women are angry that she withdrew a charge of assault against her husband.
And now she stands accused of using the Oprah Winfrey Show to harm the kingdom's image in the United States.
© dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
page: 1
So Oprah can stereotype Saudi Arabian women,but do not stereotype her.
I am talking about the Hermes incident.
hey slm , u say that saudis just whine abt wrong puplicity and yet ur own county(whatever country ur from)has the exact same problems saudi does.... and saudi's ,unlike other countries, do something abt it. the highest crime rate, the highest devorce rate, the most rape cases are all in the u.s. (no offence , just lookin at the facts here , which are written by americans. )and yet american media claims that saudies have issues?? ofcorce they have issues , but all countries with no exceptions have issues. and i say to them : take a look at urself 4 a change and do sumthin abt it rather than talkin abt other countries' issues. and to oprah i say 'thank god i live in saudi'
ps: any1 who does not agree i say to him/her:screw u this is my oppinion and if u dont like it , get ur own and if ur an american: arent u the one who have all that 'freedom of speech'.
thank you
I believe in the current world we live in and in our current stituation, it is safe to say that slm likes men and touches himslef watching monkeys eating (bananas), and btw slm u got totally 0wned by the saudi guy...
I believe in the current world we live in and in our current stituation, it is safe to say that slm likes men and touches himslef watching monkeys eating (bananas), and btw slm u got totally 0wned by the saudi guy...
your not different than anyone,,,,,,,,
the whole world have problems not just because ur boared on the net that means u can talk about things u dont know ,,, im not saying that i hate all countries or i dont like countries , NO , there are people in all countries that are bad people not all of them ,,, thats why i never talk bad about a country ,, if something i dont like happense i just talk about the person who did it not the country ,,,,,,
and the problem with you and whoever is like you ,,,,,,, (not everuone) you always look for anything bad to talk about or to tell people and spread the bad news and give the country a bad name ,,, but u never look for the good things ,,,, me for one i look for both, but not to give any country or any family a bad name if it was a bad thing i just like to know about these facts and i look for the good things to see the other side and get more knowledgment
The truth is, all countries have problems, and it is a fact. Lebanon have problems, Afghanistan have problems, saudi arabia have problems, and even the U.S, THE MOST POWERFUL NATION ON EARTH, have problems. In fact, America still have problems. These problems are still happening until this day, which is prejudice. When a white man, or better yet a white american, makes a mistake, you say he needs mental help. But when a black man, or any other race or people from another country makes a mistake you blame the whole group. When george bush went to iraq, you make force the other countries to beleive that it was his fault, not america. But when Bin Laden attacked america and England, you blame Saudi Arabia. there are hundreds of incidents that happened in America and you still call it the perfect country. But when one incident have been heard that happened in another country you say 'thank god we live in america'. THIS IS PREJUDICE. i do not blame oprah though, because i still believe that she has a good heart, but i blame the american media and governmet and people like you who convinced people like oprah that america are angels.
Oprah does what she feels is right in her heart. She would never hurt a person intentionally. She fights for her rights, beliefs and thoughts. She deserves a medal. I do not agree with this at all. Oprah has been around for a long time, and she is always there for the one who is down. How dare they.
I pay no attention
page: 1
slmJul 10th, 2005 - 16:53:53
I am so TIRED of the Saudis' whining whenever their ills are publicised, rather than trying to be better Muslims and doing something about them. They wish to instruct Muslims all over the world in their vein of thought, and criticising local traditions and expressions--but woe unto anyone who notes their own hypocrisy. Well-known facts about their society give Islam a bad name in other areas, and they see these reports and complain. Yet they don't seem to care about the real cause--their own sorry behaviour.
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