This was originally published at the news in arabic.
“I’m trying to tell if this cartoon from al-Sharq al-Awsat is sexist or not. The Arabic word on the tidal wave of women crushing the man reads “al-’anoosa” or loosely translated, singledom — a reference to a growing “problem” in the Arab world of women remaining single for whatever reason.
I honestly don’t know much about the “phenomenon” of women remaining single in the Arab world or how people interpret this but my first instinct is to say that the idea of a single woman being a “problem” is ridiculous.”
So, readers? What do you think?
Tweet
Actually, al-anoosa is more accurately translated as ‘spinsterhood’.I find that cartoon rather insulting. While some women remain unmarried for reasons beyond their control, many choose to remain so.For me, it seems the implication is that men find themselves ‘victimized’ by it. Very distasteful to say the least..
Wow…that’s the first time I’ve seen rules on the comment section.Anyway…I’m not sure if the advert is meant to be sexist but rather a comment on the situation…women now outnumber men in the Middle East and thus it is obvious that there will be more options available to one man.
The cartoon gives me the impression that men (and society) will be ill-served from an overpopulation of women. Some of these ‘unfortunate’ women may one day inherit larger shares of male-controlled wealth. A growing economy may require that more women enter the workforce (may become a necessity even in typically conservative areas). This was the natural result when women far outnumbered men in N. America during WWII. A greater female constituency may result in economic, political, and social change — inevitably their interests will be served more. Now THAT would be unsettling for some men, like the cartoon visually asserted.
Actually, I do think that it is a problem! (although I just read Kawthar’s comment about “al-anoosa” meaning “spinsterhood” which changed my track of thought completely. In such circumstance, the cartoon is just insulting to me.)But I’m going to go back to your question:I too don’t know about the phenomenon of women remaining single in the Arab world, so I can’t comment on that. Arima said that females outnumber the males in the Middle East. That’s not the case in Iran. Quite the opposite. Is that why there are more single women in the Arab world? Although I don’t know about the Arab world, I do know that single women are on the rise in Iran. It is not only the fact that this is the case today, but according to statistics, it is going to be a countrywide phenomenon in the upcoming decade. It is a problem not because women “need” men to be content or because they can not choose to remain single … Of course they can! That’s an age old discussion I’m not even going to get into. The problem arises when women – some women- choose to remain single not because they do not want a partner, but because they have not been able to find one. It is not that men outnumber the women (that females can not find a male) – I think the statistics show the opposite. But that all across Iran, females are outdoing the males in terms of higher education and even the workforce. To a point where there are now government imposed restrictions on women to keep them out of universities … And even that is not working!So slowly you are having a generation of women who are more educated, who are more familiar with the world, who are more literate and articulate then the men. Of course, that in and of itself is no problem. For one thing, for centuries, it has been the opposite: the woman had no education while the man did. Also, relationships are defined differently. You don’t necessarily have to be with someone in your exact social, educational, financial status.The problem is that while the woman is now at a higher status, she still has to meet the norms of old society. She must still be the one who submits. Many women want to be in relationships, they do want partners, but they are unable and unwilling to submit to those traditional norms.That’s the problem.Many women think to themselves (and I have heard this many times): “Now that I have to meet those norms, the least I can do is find someone who has the same level of education as I do. I’m not going to submit to someone who has half my work/education experience. When I have a PhD, I’m not going to cook and clean for somebody who has no high school diploma”And that “somebody” never comes along because they are now scarce in number!That’s oversimplifying and reducing the problem (it is certainly not only a matter of cooking and cleaning, but attitudes and behavior), but I think it gets their point across.Of course, another problem is simply that these traditional societies do not look onto women as complete individuals so long as they are not accompanied by their men. There are endless restrictions and limitations forced unto single women by society, by culture and even sometimes (though not often) by government. Even if these women achieve ten times as much as men, they will still be looked down upon some of the time; at the end of the day, despite all that they’ve achieved and all they have been able to do, they’ll be greeted by that long sigh of despair their friends and relatives throw at them because they are “single”. But that too is not something I’ll get into. That’s a problem that has to be solved, and will be solved with time because as women become more independent, many will decide that they no longer want to define themselves alongside a partner.———–I couldn’t find a place to put my URL! http://www.sidewalklyrics.com
You know, I can’t help but think that the cartoon is unintentionally foreshadowing some forthcoming wave of feminism, for all the reasons I pointed out to in my earlier comment. Maybe I could also read into the single arab man trying to control a boat in the waters of stagnating economies typcial of many arab countries.The reluctance of many women to marry men due to his poor financial circumstances may give cause for some arab societies to remove legal and customary obstacles for women. This could be another reason why the man looks so frightened.
Horrible cartoon. I would say that it’s unquestionably sexist. The poor man in the boat is depicted as a victim of a menacing wave of featureless veiled women.For this cartoon to make sense, the viewer has to accept (or at least be familiar with) the sexist notion that women are “fitna” (temptations) for men by their very nature. Since (the “reasoning” goes) women are morally weak, their sexuality needs to be contained.Ugh.BTW, if a similar cartoon appeared in a non-Muslim paper, I’ve no doubt that we wouldn’t be asking whether or not it’s insulting; we’d be complaining about stereotypes and Islamophobia.
I think the lack of ability for men and women (who want to) to marry has a huge destabalizing effect on society. That is not say that this cartoon is not sexist, but I can imagine feeling rather intimidated by the situation in many Middle Eastern countries if I was a single man seeking marriage. If women felt that they would be secure and happy and protected in marital relationships, however, this would do much to alleviate the current situation, I believe.
Salaam Alaikum,Grim and gross. Unmarried women as a scary tidal wave is just appalling imagery.
I interpret this as men in the Arab world being overwelmed by the number of women remaining single past “their prime” (tongue in cheek). Overwelmed or possible burdened? There are parts of the Arab world that tend to deflect attention away from real problems by focusing on women’s issues/rights or lack thereof.
hello, the middle east is distressingly sexist! i’ve seen more sexist cartoons than i’ve had hot dinners.point being, that remaining single in the middle east is a far less pleasant prospect for a woman than it is in the west. you can only get independence of almost any kind by getting married in many cases, and i can’t fault women around here for being keen to effect this. especially in saudi arabia, whence the funding for this paper comes. However, i am sure that women all over the middle east are panicking at the prospect of being locked up in their house forever, while men in the non-gulf parts of the middle east cannot afford the exorbitant costs a bridegroom must pay according to the culture. the economy has gone down the drain. so while this rich saudi or khaliji guy can afford to wait around and pick and choose and amass wives, the women of his country probably can’t.