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SAT-7 ARABIC launches new campaign to improve the status of women

In many Arab families the “head” is a woman. She may be a widow.  She may be divorced.  Or perhaps she never married.  Her husband might be working abroad.  Or he might be jobless, or sick, or an alcoholic, or a drug abuser.  Or he might simply have abandoned her.

Now she is left alone to provide for her children, her parents or her younger siblings.  But her society expects the head of the household to be a man.

The challenges she faces are legal – she may need to fight for legal guardianship of her children, for their right to an education, or for her right to social security or ownership of property.

Or she faces economic challenges. Sometimes only the low paid jobs are available to women. Perhaps her migrant husband never sends the money he promised. And in some places, social security entitlements are paid only to the man in the house.

But most of all, she faces social challenges. The neighbors gossip. Why could she not keep her husband? Is she an immoral woman? Her every step is monitored and the rumors flourish.

Society closes its eyes, and the media overlooks these silent women. But now the satellite TV station SAT-7 ARABIC is giving them voice. Through 26 documentaries from Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco, women who are the sole providers for their children, their siblings or their parents tell their stories. The series is called: “And I am not “just” a woman.” The first documentary will be on air May 5th.

The documentaries are part of a larger media campaign, which also includes a number of awareness-raising spots. Later this year a live talk show on the same subject will be launched.  Through this campaign, SAT-7 ARABIC wants to raise awareness about the rights of women, and give hope of a better life for female heads of households in the Middle East and North Africa.

Juliana Sfeir, SAT-7 Lebanon, is the executive producer for the series. She says “I feel compelled to raise the banners of justice for these women, because I, personally, have been marked by the injustices of a prejudiced society. Only those who have experienced society’s negative gaze, and how hard it is to stand alone, bending under the heavy yoke of everyday life can understand what these women face day after day. This is my platform to raise their voice, to tell the world that they are not just women. They are heroes who deserve the salute of a warrior. This project was initially developed from my Master degree’s thesis film. Thanks to SAT-7, it developed into a much wider visionary project, thus becoming a greater campaign covering three major Arab and North African countries.”   

Date: 5/6/2009