Whether in March, like Jordan, May like India or October, like
Argentina, more than 50 countries in the world celebrate Mother’s Day.
اضافة اعلان
While the occasion is meant to honor mothers, it often is
also the time when businesses of all sorts see fit to place ads and announce discounts
on housewares and kitchen utensils on every media platform, making one wonder
what the hidden message is.
Is it intended to put women down by peddling the standard
stereotype of women’s role in society? Is it the ultimate gift to give to a
woman who is a mother or is it just a marketing strategy used on occasions of
any kind?
Alaa Abdelrahman, a teacher and mother of three young
children had this to say: “It used to bother me a lot, a couple of years ago,
to find these ads only on Mother’s Day; you do not see them on
Labor Day, for
example, in order to help working moms! But recently I have been looking at
this from another angle. I see them now as a good opportunity to buy or renew
some of my home appliances due to the really good prices during this sales
season.”
At the same time, however, “I always encourage my children
to get me any kind of a symbolic gift, like a card or even a flower, along with
the gift they decide to give me, just to teach them that it is the meaning and
thought they put into a gift that matters.”
According to Abdelrahman, there has been a noticeable change
in that past few years in offers for Mother’s Day.
“You can see now that all kinds of brands and goods are
promoted during this sales season, such as watches, perfumes and even spa time;
all are offering meaningful gifts for mothers, and it is up to the individual
to choose the best gift for their mom.”
Inaam Al-Asha, a human and women rights activist, and the
manager of the
Solidarity Is Global Institute–Tadamon (SIGI), stated that “as
long as the ad does not offend women, like many of the ads we see on a daily
basis, there is no harm in actually buying houseware items for mothers in order
to make their daily tasks easier”.
On March 20, social media users were outraged by an ad that
went viral in Jordan, which presented a rice brand whose quality would prevent
women who use it from getting divorced.
Tadamon, among many other women's rights organizations, called the
advertisement offensive, and said that it shows no regard for the institution
of marriage or for
Jordanian family values.
Limiting women’s roles on media platforms and in
advertisements to that of merely house wives affects the subconscious of the
receiver of the message and builds this stereotypical image that downgrades
women’s achievements in different areas of life, so “it is our responsibility
to fight it and the society’s responsibility to reject it as well”, according
to Asha.
The problem is not only in the Arab world; worldwide women are objectified in advertisements and treated as a commodity.
Gender equality guidelines in advertisement is what Deema
Alnadi — Jordanian feminist activist who earned her degree in women’s studies at
Jordan University — believes “we need to work on as a culture”.
“The problem is not only in the Arab world; worldwide women
are objectified in advertisements and treated as a commodity,” she said.
According to Alnadi, “the type of women we see in
advertisements on most media platforms does not look like us; they are far from
reality”.
“All we see in ads nowadays are women with no wrinkles or
scars and with perfectly shaped bodies, and this affects [the perception of a]
healthy body image of women everywhere,” Alnadi said.
Advertising and the media have a huge impact on society’s
attitudes and behavior, therefore they should be dealt with and monitored.
Although there is a shift toward empowering women, one may still be surprised
every now and then by the choice of some advertisers who wish to bring the
society back to the point where one feels obliged to defend women’s roles in
society, hoping that one day they will be represented as they deserve.
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