Social media influencers are asking why BMW in Saudi Arabia, and international brands in general are not changing their famous logos to the colors of the LGBT movement, a rainbow flag to celebrate Pride Month? BMW has changed its international logo to reflect Pride, but the Saudi Arabian version remains unchanged.

It is common for international brands to celebrate and reflect certain holidays and celebrations throughout the year. Local branding is usually left to local marketing companies who handle the brand and its expression in respectiev countries. Should Saudi Arabia go rainbow?

Homosexuals and people who have affairs outside marriage can face death by stoning in Saudi Arabia. It is legal for a man to have more than one wife in Saudi Arabia. They are by law allowed to have up to 4.

Women were only allowed to start driving in 2018.

According to Islamic Shariah law homosexuality is punishable by death. Men in Iran are sentenced to death if they are found engaging in love partnerships or sexual acts with other men. A Palestinian man was beheaded for being gay while seeking asylum in Canada. Canadians encourage people to explore their sexuality choices starting in grade school so it a safe place to live if you seek sexual freedom.

Being gay is not allowed in most Islamic countries. Be careful in countries like Iran, the UAE or Saudi Arabia if you engage in sexual freedom. You can be arrested or worse.

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A Chinese airline attracted a media mess after announcing plans to dress its cabin crew as maids and butlers. Low-cost carrier Spring Airlines unveiled the uniforms as part of a special promotion posted on its corporate Facebook page, according to Shanghai Daily. The airline posted, “We’re mixing up our flights with some fun on-board themes – like these maid and butler costumes.”

But the the Shanghai-based carrier’s plan to attract passengers with goofball “theme flights” backfired, instead attracting global criticism, particularly on social media. The sexy-baby maid theme is particularly inappropriate for the Middle Eastern market. Not only is the immodest attire offensive to Islamic sensibilities, the reality of Asian domestic workers in this region starkly contradicts the cutesy-costumed crew.

Critics suggest the airline should focus instead on flight punctuality, reduced tickets prices and improved services. Grab press from improved environmental performance rather than “cosplaying” crews in revealing attire. Concerns were also raised over health and safety risks: the risque uniforms include short skirts and high heels, and the attendants wear their hair loose instead of in a classic pull-back.

Japanese artist Nobuyuki Takahashi coined the term “cosplay”, short for “costume play”, to describe a form of dress-up performance art particularly popular in urban Asia (think of anime and manga).

Cabin attendants won’t be the only ones cosplaying: pilots will dress as butlers.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me. Objectifying flight attendants is the last marketing strategy you wanna use,” stated one of the airline’s Facebook fans. “I wonder what your passenger demographics look like. I do hope this marketing move is supported by solid market research.”

The airline replied, “Thanks for your feedback! We’ll never objectify any of our staff; in fact, this idea came from our international crew of qualified Chinese, Japanese and Thailand cabin staff.”

Asian maids in the Middle East don’t carry the same connotation as, say, French maids in the West.

Every year thousands of women from Asian countries travel to the Middle East to work in Arab households. Many end up suffering physical and emotional violence at the hands of their employers, working unpaid and refused time off.  Passports are commonly confiscated by the employer or workers’ agent, and outside assistance is difficult to attract without full command of Arabic or English.

The situation became so bad in Jordan, that the Philippine government temporarily banned domestic workers from traveling here (Jordan hosts an estimated 30,000 Filipino workers). That ban was lifted in 2012 after the two nations inked deals to protect domestic workers, including a guaranteed minimum monthly salary of $400. The situation hasn’t improved.

Olivia V. Palala, Philippines ambassador in Jordan, told news site GMA Network, “We want to ensure that maids get better treatment. We want to ensure their basic rights are protected.”

Many of the estimated 40,000 Sri Lankan workers in Jordan are also abused. “Around 100 domestic workers run away from their employers every month,” I.L.H. Jameel of the Sri Lankan embassy told GMA Network.

Human Rights Watch says many of the Asian domestic workers in Jordan face the same abuses as migrant domestic workers elsewhere in the region, stating in a 2012 report, “The reasons these abuses persist is the weak enforcement of existing legal rights and omissions and provisions in the law that facilitate abuse.”

Jordan’s labor ministry downplayed the problem. “The number of cases mentioned is small compared to the problems in other countries around us,” said ministry secretary general Hamadah Abu Nejmeh. “There is some negligence, but Jordan does not tolerate violations.”

And we shouldn’t tolerate cabin crews dressing up as maids and butlers. Given that they’re responsible for passenger health, safety, and security, maybe flight attendants should dress up as doctors and policemen instead.

Images from Spring Airlines Facebook page

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You know the story: two teens arrived in London as the first women athletes to ever represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), where conservative clerics forbid women’s participation in sports. KSA wasn’t alone in coming late to the party: Brunei and Qatar also sent female athletes for the first time this year. But the post-Olympiad tongue-lashing these women are now suffering sets Saudi culture apart once again.

Saudi delayed until mid-July the announcement that their Olympic team would include women, a decision following months of negotiations between their government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Without women in their ranks, the KSA Olympic team would’ve likely been disqualified.

Saudi women lack the framework to develop into world-class athletes: they’re forbidden from entering all-male national trials, making it impossible for them to qualify for international competitions. So these competitors never actually qualified for their events, but, instead, were given special invitations by the IOC.

Their performances were unimpressive. Shaherkani was defeated in her first judo match after only 82 seconds and Attar finished last in her 800-meter dash. The results were not surprising; but how brave for these underpups to compete. What was surprising were horrendous comments uploaded on social media.

Shaherkani received a standing ovation from the crowd as she left the arena alongside her father, but the online reaction was far less supportive.

Ultra-conservatives opposing the women’s participation vented on blogs and social media, questioning the teens’ morality using extremely offensive terms.

Saudi sports analyst, Fahd al-Rouqi, made an outrageous television announcement that he hoped to die before ever seeing a Saudi woman in the Olympics. (I can find no reports as to his post-Games demise).

A flurry of Twittering ensued. Gulf News repeated one comment that described Shaherkani as “sea remnants” (tarsh bahar), a racist term that describes immigrants to Mecca from outside KSA. Others accused American-born Wojdan of impersonating a Muslim, positing that she might not even be a Saudi.

A Saudi Twitterer allegedly called Sultan Al Hilali spread the hashtag #عاهرات_الاولمبياد  which translates to “the Prostitutes of the Olympics”, referring to the women’s Olympic participation. This prompted angry responses, but, stunningly, also vocal support.

Another Twitter hashtag translates into “Nawaf offers up Saudi women to the Olympics”, referring to Prince Nawaf bin Faisal, head of the General Presidency of Youth Welfare. It attracted tweets condemning the Prince for “folding to the West”, a view repeated by clerics. An editorial on the backlash appearing in The Guardian prompted another stream of public outrage.

Yet what some view as unacceptable violations of human rights, others see as respectful protection. “Saudis are right to keep their culture”, said one commenter. “The Guardian will not be satisfied until every country in the world enforcers their narrow urban cosmopolitan Western views on everyone”, said another.

“There are plenty of women in Saudi who look at Western feminism and thank their lucky stars that they are not used and abused in the way Western women are. I find the idea of Western women calling themselves sluts in public to be demeaning”, one reader wrote.

Another stated, “We all know these female athletes in the Olympics are sexualized in the reporting and presentation. Just look at beach volleyball. The Saudis should refuse to send women to the games until the Olympic committee decides to treat women with the respect they deserve”.

Several Saudi-themed blogs refer to books and fatwas against women in sports, often quoting one particular author (Al Shathri) who argues that physical education will require girls to undress in front of each other “opening the evil door of lesbianism, admiration and their hearts getting attached to each other.” 

I went to an all-girls high school: I’ll testify that my heart never entangled with my classmates’ tickers, despite many a post-field-hockey-shower. (Disclaimer: this writer finds no problem with said heart attachments).

Shaherkani’s father has said he will legally challenge his daughters’ disparagers whose hateful comments could be labeled libelous; she may be entitled to claim for serious damages and demand a public apology as well.  Attar has not commented.

Activist Manal al-Sharif, who led a campaign to allow Saudi women to drive, described Wojdan’s participation in the London Olympics as historic. “For us Saudi women judoka Wojdan is a champion,” she said on Twitter.

United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan tweeted: “Thank you, Wojdan Shaherkani.”

Neither Wojdan nor Sarah have been officially recognized by the Saudi government as Olympic competitors: few Saudis have spoken in their support.

Western media celebrated the news as a revolution in women’s rights, but I think that interpretation’s overblown. Social activists and human rights organizations inside KSA grapple with child marriage, judicial discrimination against women, opening educational and employment opportunities, and lifting the ban on women driving. Women in sports are understandably not top priority.

Does the IOC have a responsibility to leverage the Olympics in challenge of human rights restrictions?  They expelled South Africa from the Games in 1970 for its racist policies: that ban remained effective for 21 years until apartheid finally ended.  Seems an appropriate precedent to flexing their political muscles here in the Middle East.

tristan tan / Shutterstock.com

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