Arab people are frequently subjected to a variety of stereotypes. From the’silly shrouded girl’ that is portrayed as an oppressed survivor in need of a lord, to the notion https://www.autostraddle.com/category/sex-and-relationships/dating/ that women who wear hijabs are unable to think for themselves or do not have any ambition. These preconceptions are dangerous in their description of a culture, but also in the way that they deny the trailblazing work of women function concepts across the region. Whether it is the first female president of a town in Iraq or the many Arab female lawmakers, these women are a clear issue to the tale that has been created that says Egyptian women are useless and never take charge of their own lives.
Studies conducted by George Gerbner, father of Cultivation Theory, shows that bad stereotypes are cultivated through repeated advertising images. This is particularly true when it comes to the Arab media. During the coronavirus pandemic in 2019 for example, a large percentage of jokes circulated on social media sites reflected negatively about arab women. The’silly veiled female ’ image was the most prominent one. Other negative images included women being illiterate, limited in intellectual capability, immoral, materialistic or opportunistic.
Dr Balaa highlights the importance of countering these stereotypes with positive portrayals of Arab women and how these are achieved in literature. She uses the example of Firdaus dating a pakistani girl in Saadawi’s novel The Book of life where she is able to rebel against her rapist and show ’ a different type of femininity.’ This is important as it illustrates that women can face multiple forms of oppression at the same time that are not solely related to their religion or their ethnicity as Arabs.
