RIYADH: The media and women are two tricky and delicate issues in our society, said Noura Al-Odwan, professor of curriculum and educational methods and supervisor of the women’s chair at King Saud University.
She said the power of the media cannot be underrated as it contributes to forming public opinion, especially with regard to social development and women’s empowerment.
Al-Odwan made the remarks during a seminar entitled “The role of media and its effect in educating and building Saudi businesswomen’s awareness” held at the women’s section of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) recently.
“Media must be an instrument to help in enhancing the rights awareness, demolishing some of the distorted ideas that are alien to the Islamic law (Shariah), and developing women’s skills through shedding light on her positive participation and activities while bringing her voice to the public,” said Al-Odwan, adding that this had not been the case, as there had been a negative media impact on the issue of women’s empowerment.
After the 1995 Beijing Women’s Conference, the application of CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women), and the recommendations of MEPI (Middle East Partnership Initiative), Al-Odwan believes that the gender issue was activated in a negative manner.
“A Westernized methodology became the basis for dealing with women’s issues in the Arab and Muslim world. Governments are pressured to adopt the second article of the CEDAW regarding equality, legislative measures and abolishing existing laws that constitute discrimination against women,” she said.
Emphasizing the need for objectivity, Al-Odwan said although violence, discrimination and abuse of women cannot be denied generalization should not be the norm. “We are looking for equilibrium and that can only be achieved through maintaining the sovereignty of society. Development does not necessarily mean doing away with the positive classic roles, such as motherhood, nursing and bringing up children, and changing typical roles just for the sake of change,” said Al-Odwan, indicating that the media in some cases had contributed to the loss of social and cultural identity and also of the family image.
The role of media, she said, is to expose unjust doings in society. That is the core of its mission. But what Al-Odwan sees as an unfortunate deviation from this noble mission is the method used by media to bring out the negativity in women’s status.
The use of drama by the media to pass on ideological changes, says Al-Odwan, reflects unacceptable values. The restructured terminology used in the media distorts such concepts as Qawamah (male supervision) and Wilayah (guardianship) in a way that serves the purposes and directions that aim to fake women’s independence while overlooking real problems.
Social sovereignty, or privacy, is a sensitive topic to some, as many find that behind such words, many wrongs can be hidden. Yet Al-Odwan believes that the privacy of society is a matter that should be maintained in order to preserve values and social standards that should not be forgotten or deserted.
Al-Odwan also points out that the Human Rights Declaration stresses the right of every country to preserve its identity and culture. She believes that globalization aims to make all nations uniform by imposing culture, “which is not our culture, but the culture of the stronger.”
