Soap opera shakes customs of Arab married
Soap opera shakes customs of Arab married life
By KARIN LAUB and DALIA NAMMARI, Associated Press Writers Sun Jul 27, 1:08 PM ET
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Every evening for the past four months, a tall young man with soulful blue eyes has been stealing hearts across the Middle East, from the refugee camps of the Gaza Strip to the gated mansions of Riyadh.
But it's not just the striking good looks of Mohannad, hero of the hugely popular Turkish TV soap "Noor," that appeal to female viewers. He's romantic, attentive to his wife, Noor, supportive of her independence and ambitions as a fashion designer — in short, a rare gem for women in conservative, male-dominated surroundings.
Noor" delivers an idealized portrayal of modern married life as equal partnership — clashing with the norms of traditional Middle Eastern societies where elders often have the final word on whom a woman should marry and many are still confined to the role of wife and mother.
Some Muslim preachers in the West Bank and Saudi Arabia have taken notice, saying the show is un-Islamic and urging the faithful to change channels. But all the same, the show may be planting seeds of change.
"I told my husband, `learn from him (Mohannad) how he treats her, how he loves her, how he cares about her," said Heba Hamdan, 24, a housewife visiting the West Bank from Amman, Jordan. Married straight out of college, she said the show inspired her to go out and look for a job.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080727/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast_subversive_soap
LOL, it's the same everywhere with Soaps, always showing an idealistic life and how romantic life is, but presently, we usually call it woman stuff, but it doesn't mean that some of those things don't happen just that it's too "crying baby" stories.
Only God Can Judge Me
الله فقط يمكنه محاكمتي
I am you and you are me, if you love i love, if you suffer i suffer
أنا أنت, و أنت أنا, إذا أحببت نفسك أحببت نفسي, إذا عانيتَ عانيتُ
So the premise of this programming is the same the world over. We get to watch actors pretend to be rich snobs and we are supposed to emulate it? Wonderful. . . .
This does not portray the real life in Turkey and definately not the real life of a married woman.
One of my in-laws is a Bank Manager her day starts a 05.00 am and finishes when the last visitor leaves her home around 10.00 pm.
Her husband will do the occasional shopping but otherwise he is out drinking and playing cards with his friends. Only if he is pushed does he do anything for the kids.
They have an upperclass life style due to both their jobs, but they have to work for it and the life in Turkey differs immensely to that of Gulf or Arab states.
I don't know of any man (except)Mohanad who would put up with the situation he puts up with, since they got married she has been nothing but a real pain to him, I often wonder why he did not just leave her (poor guy).
Women in Turkey don't have to strive for their independance as is portrayed in the series, they are able to decide about their jobs etc. themselves. Those who can't are really the minority.
The series misleads women into thinking that he adores her but I am sure in real life he would not live a life like that.
A lot of female colleagues talks about the soap opera and the hero (Mohanad)....
few of them have him on their computer desktop. These soap opera give the ideal and untrue picture of married life which is far from reality and these women wants the fake and unreal life portrayed in the serials to the real.
____________________________________________________
Have Courage To Live.
Anyone Can Die.
I watch ths every day on TV and although I can't understand Arabic, she is an absolute pain in the A****.
Never a day goes by where she does not create some kind of problem in that household, the poor man goes through hot and cold all the time, she wants to be and is the centre of attention at any time her charactere in the series). She spends most of her time crying, fighting or opposing him -tell me one man in real life who will tolerate this kind of behaviour from his wife.
Please don't forget this portrays a very rich high class family in Turkey and is far away from Turkish reality.
Nowadays many Turkish women are extremely well educated and have very good jobs in managerial positions in Turkey(outstanding the men by the way)and the other women who don't have university degrees are working too as life is very expensive in Turkey.
The series portrays an absolute fictional side of being married with a Turkish man take it from one who knows.