Ad showing women athletes sparks controversy
online commercial released by Nike this week that showed Arab women fencing, boxing and spinning on ice-skates has stirred controversy over its attempt to smash stereotypes about women leading home-bound lives in the conservative region.
Filmed in the older, rundown suburbs of glitzy Dubai, the ad reflects the struggles faced not only by women across the region but also by some of its own stars.
It begins with a woman nervously peering out of her doorway and adjusting her veil before going for a run in the street, while a female voice narrates in a Saudi dialect: “What will they say about you? Maybe they’ll say you exceeded all expectations.” Within 48 hours the video was shared 75,000 times on Twitter and viewed almost 400,000 times on YouTube.
“An ad (which) touches on the insecurities of women in a society digs deeper and becomes an empowerment tool rather than just a product,” Sara al-Zawqari of the International Red Cross in Iraq, tweeted. But not all liked the ad. “I think this ad was an utter fail,” said Nada Sahimi on the company’s Instagram page.
“This is not the true representation of Arab, Muslim women. We do not wear a hijab and go running in the streets,” she said.
Women exercising in public is a rare sight in much of the region and women-only gyms are few, are not fully equipped for different sports and are often more expensive than gyms for men.