Saudi Arabian video combats sexism

Lauren Kuhr, Staff writer

Women across the world are subject to sexism and prejudice every day, some more than others.

Much of Saudi Arabia, an Arab state in Western Asia, has in a deeply conservative culture where women are placed under tight restrictions. According to a New York Times article published Jan. 2017, Saudi women who do not follow the rules placed on them by their “male guardians” as well as the other men of society, can be imprisoned or punished to death.

But women are slowly moving to redefine these boundaries, according to a National Geographic article published Feb. 2016. With easy access to the internet, the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia and other countries, is becoming more and more apparent.

Recently, social media has been abuzz with the release of a new music video, portraying a lively and colorfully-dressed group of women singing slightly provocative lyrics, as they pray, saying “God would rid us of all men.”

This video has certainly upset the more conservative members of Saudi society, but, more importantly, it has ignited conversations about this conservative culture around the rest of the world, according to the New York Times.

This video has been encouraging the power of the oppressed, especially women, shown by the support and excitement it has generated. At one point, the video zooms-in to a look-a-like United States presidential podium, where a cut-out head of Donald Trump is held up on a popsicle stick by other men.

The main goal of the video was to take a stand to lower the disparity among women and men, according to the New York Times article, and it has done just that.

We should follow the example set by these women in Saudi Arabia, and take a stand for the things that we can change, but fight for the things that we think we cannot change, because they can’t stop us all.

Special interest groups that advocate for the empowerment of groups, such as the Girl-Up club at our school, are effective when trying to change opinions, but we need more than that.

As a woman in the U.S., I know that there are things that allow us to be more equal to men than women in other parts of the country. However, I also know that there are more things that still need to change.