Tag: Saudi Arabia
IKEA Remove Women In Catalog Angers Saudi Women
Saudi women have long been taking the back seat to their male counterparts.
Seeing women’s images removed in an Ikea catalog shows that reality.
The Swedish-based retailer airbrushed images of women in their annual catalog that were shipped to the religiously conservative Islamic kingdom.
Many people were upset about the images being removed including Sweden’s trade minister, Ewa Bjorling. She says that even though Saudi Arabia “has a long way to go when it comes to gender equality,” the images clearly show that it’s still around.
IKEA apologized for the airbrushing. They said:
“regrets what has happened and understands that people are upset.”
“It is not the local franchisee that has requested the retouch of the discussed pictures. The mistake happened during the work process occurring before presenting the draft catalog for IKEA Saudi Arabia. We take full responsibility for the mistakes made.”
Some were not upset. Blogger Eman Al Nafjan said:
“We’re beyond that right now in Saudi Arabia….”
“With internet and satellite TV, there’s really no such thing anymore as blacking out women or airbrushing out women. I would be upset if something like Google was doing it, but IKEA to do it, that’s just marketing — it’s not such a big deal.”
Most international magazines had been censored in Saudi Arabia. Magazines that show shoulders or stomachs were typically coloured in with black markers. Nowadays Nafjan says, people don’t try to cover up women magazines.
“It’s strange — almost like they gave up. I saw a woman wearing a miniskirt on a cover of a magazine when I was at the grocery store,” she said.
What do you think? Was IKEA insensitive about women’s equal rights?
Drifting In Saudi Arabia (VIDEO)
Drifting is a stunt where a car skids and spins in high speeds. The stunt is considered reckless and dangerous. However, celebrities sensationalize it.
Drifting has become popular in Saudi Arabia. The stunt originated from Japan. It is a high risk adrenaline rush that
The movie Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift in 2006 featured it in one of their scenes.
Young men in Saudi Arabia normally attempt the stunt on empty roads. However, there are the daredevils that do it on busy roads.
In one video, a driver drifts while narrowly missing a school bus.
Some of these joy riders can careen off the road just like one of the videos that shows a black car rolling off to the side of the road.
Last JUne 2012, a man who hit and killed two onlookers while drifting had been sentenced to death.
Some are arguing that drifting can be a sport if done safely.
Ahmed Al-Ameri says you can drfit safely. He has been promoting it as a sport. He drifts in a track instead of public streets. He suggests that people can drift in a track where they can achieve hours of enjoyment compared to a few seconds in public streets.
However, even with a safer option most young men like the adrenaline rush from going against the rules to drift in public.
Car Crashes Into Ditch Hits Man
This video was taken in Saudi Arabia.
A car somehow diverts itself from traffic and crashes into the side of the highway.
Bystanders looked shocked after witnessing the car flip over several times and hit a man. The man who was hit flipped through the air.
The condition of the driver and the man who was hit are unknown at this time.
