IN MY SHOES: A Living Hell
The New York Times reports that “The Oprah Winfrey Show” – broadcast twice every weekday with Arabic subtitles – is must-see TV amongst Saudi women from every socioeconomic strata because “[t]he particulars of [her] personal story have resonated … in a way that few other Western imports have, explained Mazen Hayek, a spokesman for the MBC Group,” which airs the show on a channel devoted to women’s programming.
These Saudi Oprah fans share a common fantasy that their heroine will rescue them from lives that are so circumscribed as to be unimaginable to Western women:
Some women here say Ms. Winfrey’s assurances to her viewers - that no matter how restricted or even abusive their circumstances may be, they can take control in small ways and create lives of value - help them find meaning in their cramped, veiled existence. …
Saudi women say they are drawn to Ms. Winfrey not only because she openly addresses subjects considered taboo locally, but also because she speaks of self-empowerment and change.
Wafa Muhammad, 38, a mother of five from Riyadh, said she believed that, in their adoration of Ms. Winfrey, Saudi women are expressing a hesitant sense of longing for real change in their country. …
In a country where women are forbidden to vote, or to travel without the permission of a male guardian, a sense of powerlessness can lead women to look for unlikely sources of rescue, Ms. Muhammad explained. “If women here have problems with their fathers or their brothers, what can they do but look to Oprah?” she asked. “The idea that she will come and help them is a dream for them.”
Nayla, [a] homemaker in Dammam, a Persian Gulf port city, says Ms. Winfrey helps her cope with a society that does not encourage her to have interests. “The life of a woman here in Saudi - it makes you tired and it makes you boring,” she said, sighing.
Like many Saudi women, Nayla struggles with obesity, a major issue in the kingdom because many women are largely confined to their homes and local custom often prevents them from participating in sports or even walking around their neighborhoods.
She says that Ms. Winfrey has inspired her to lose weight and to pursue her education through an online degree course, a method acceptable to her husband since she will not have to leave home.
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