Syrian drama popular despite abuse of women

Nohad Kaawash can not wait until the popular Syrian drama Bab Al Hara is shown on television every night during Ramadan. When it starts, she is glued to the TV set and orders full silence at home during the one-hour show.

Like most women in the Arab region, Nohad says she loves this series which takes place nearly 80 years ago and portrays a repulsive picture of women.

The series, now in its fifth part, has become the talk of the town and is believed to have won one of the highest viewership rating in the history of Arab TV drama.

Bab Al Hara (the Neighborhood Gate) highlights simple traditions and culture at that time and the people’s struggle against French occupation.

But it has triggered controversy about the way it portrays women as weak creatures, who are treated like slaves by their husbands, fathers or brothers.

Although many women find this disgusting, they can not hide their feelings that they love the show. Nohad even said she does not mind live back at that time.

“I love Bab Al Hara….I can see the offending way women are treated in the series but I don’t concentrate on this point,” the 55-year-old Palestinian said.

“I love the way  people (in Bab Al Hara) like and respect each others which is missed now, and how the life was simple and easy, full of love and humanity….relations between people were based on pure and genuine feelings and true emotions…to be honest, I would like to live that time as it takes me to a wonderful world that is almost free of hatred and hypocrisy.”

Bab Al Hara, directed by Bassam Al Mulla, one of the most famous Syrian directors, is aired only during Ramadan.

It has drawn audience from all Arab countries, including the Gulf, North Africa and occupied Palestine.

Many critics have attacked the way women are treated in the series but acknowledged that the show has become one of the most popular TV programmes in the region.

One critic attributed its popularity to the fact that the Arab citizens yearn to old days when their countries were almost one nation and people were close, caring and supportive of each other.

Another critic said men loved the show because it underscores their masculinity and power.

But the critic warned that the series, by doing so, is sending a negative message to men to treat women that way.

Neither Mulla nor the writer of the series have clearly explained why they concentrate on the negative aspect of women.

The only scene that gave some credit to females was in part 4 when the neighbourhood’s women confronted the French troops who tried to raid their homes in search of rebels.

That scene was a strong indication that women played a role in the resistance and were strong advocates of freedom, refusing to be treated like slaves.

But back home, they are shown humiliated and treated like slaves without any resistance.

A woman who dares face her husband risks being beaten and divorced and this means the end of her life as divorce was then a shame.

That what exactly happened to Umm Issam, the main character in the series, when she shouted back in her husband’s face.

She appeared to have already known the consequence when he immediately reacted and divorced her.

Once the neighbourhood learned about the divorce a few days later, Umm Issam and her daughters were boycotted by most of the women.

Abu Issam was shunned by most men and his two sons had to fight sarcastic young men.

Another key character in the series, Umm Ibrahim, summed up the whole situation in a few words, when she was rebuked by Umm Issam for refusing to let her son, Ibrahim, marry Umm Issam’s daughter because of her divorce.

“What can I do Umm Issam…please don’t blame me …Abu Ibrahim (her husband) refuses this marriage and I have no choice but to obey…you and all women in the neighbourhood know very well that we have no say in any thing…we are very weak and all we can say is yes,” Umm Ibrahim said.

In an opinion survey conducted by an online service, many Arab women said they feel ashamed of the way women are depicted in Bab Al Hara. But most of them said they love to watch the series

“The portrayal of women in Bab Al Hara is so humiliating. You don't even have one assertive women in it, and it seems that the father, husband, brother, son, can kick, slap, shout, and humiliate the woman without facing any sort of resistance,” said one woman, who identified herself as Salma.

“On the contrary, most of the women not only accept the patriarchal repression, yet reinforce it upon their own sex. I feel disgusted watching women being treated that way…I don’t know why it focuses only on the negative side….yet when night comes, I fund myself fixed in front of the TV to watch it.”

“You know I was just thinking about Bab Al Hara the other day myself. I'll admit, i'm hooked- i do like the plot,” said another woman, named Aisha.

“What bothers me of course is the protrayal of women in that show: you're either a bitch or you follow orders. And i'll admit there are some pretty disturbing scenes that I found disgusting….but I don't know if this show is giving people ideas or is reflecting the situation of some women.”

One critic warned that Syrians and other Arab men could be influenced by the programme and start to imitate men in Bab Al Hara by mistreating women.

“I am sure there is some level of truth to their portrayal that way, but I doubt it was to that extent….the show is excessively generalising.. I think Syrians are experiencing this mass nostalgia for bygone days and this can be dangerous. If you fall in love with history you start to want to recreate it,” he said.

In a comment on Bab Al Hara last week, a Saudi newspaper cited findings by a research company in the Gulf Kingdom revealing that one of the main reasons for the high rate of viewing for that series was that it “conveyed deep rooted Arab dominating and masculine habits that give Arab men a nice feeling.”

“On the other hand, the series has shown us women as a very weak, repressed creature lacking any authority…the woman in Bab Al Hara must not argue with the man but to obey him…should she try to argue, she could end up divorced,” the Saudi Arabic language online paper Kabar said.

“A divorce in Bab Al Hara is a big scandal as we come to see the effect of it among the neighbourhood’s residents…the woman in Bab Al Hara has no role in life except to please the man and cook for him…the series shows that authority is for the powerful…the problem is that Bab Al Hara is a very popular series that is watched by both men and women…..but what is amazing is that women admire this work and enjoy watching themselves humiliated by men…not only this, they appear to be admiring the man’s oppressive character.”

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