Zein Al-Sabah's interview with Oprah has been making the rounds here via email. I finally sat down to watch it in its entirety today. My favorite parts were the audience reaction shots with their jaws wide open.
Over to you, folks..
(Windows Media Player required)
I would say that was two thirds of the truth about Kuwaiti women & community. Yes some live in mansions others live in 7kuma houses! Not all have a fancy life style & we do have other things on our heads more than shopping. If the voting process is still coming & men do not dominate women here, then who is it that is not giving us our rights? if men don't dominate us will you please tell my dad that I want to go out in a rally & lead a new party for women's political rights here & lets see who dominates.
ReplyDeleteStill it is true we are blessed in many things as education & health care (which I prefer to not use & just go to a paid hospital for the sake of my life) the 7kuma marriage gift, but think about the wealth Kuwait has & if it DISTRIBUTED well or not :} a Kuwaiti person IF had a fair share of this lands wealth then all what is said will be less than the truth.
Although I liked the image of the educated Kuwaiti woman but didn't like the fact that we seemed very spoiled, if ur 30 ur probably rich! "Says Oprah"!!, consider a quick mental survey did all 30 yr old Kuwaiti women go to Villa Moda? Or even ever held a Gucci bag or wore a Valentino shoe!? & has 3 cars which cost more than 40 thousand K.D.
Zaydoun, I think this is the 3rd or 4th post on this same subject? why so much attention to an insignificant event?
ReplyDeleteBecause the past 2 times (yep, only 2) we discussed the interview and gave opinions without seeing it. Now that we've seen it, I felt I had to open it up again for discussion. I personally buried my face in my hands for most of it.
ReplyDeleteWhat kills me is that Zein is a truly accomplished young lady and instead of focusing on her accomplishments as a film director and the work she's done, she chose to show the pampered side of her life. I do not have any problem with the way she lives; she is fortunate to be wealthy and should enjoy it if she can. But the program mistakenly portrayed ALL 30 year old Kuwaiti women as living the same spoiled lifestyle, and she just encouraged that perception. Maybe not on purpose, but some coaching would've helped.
But at least she spoke perfect English, which is more than I can say for our government officials and all 50 MPs!
Ok, makes sense now. I think that number will be even higher. Hmm imagine what we would do with 100 of them?
ReplyDeleteبصراحة سمعت الكثير عن مقابلة الزين.........لكن عندما شاهدتها أصبت بخيبة أمل نتيجة السطحية و التفاهة التي سادت النقاش. سمعت الكثير عن الزين و عن ثقافتها و إنجازاتها و بساطتها و وجدت عكس ذلك في تلك المقابلة التلفزيونية التي اعطت صورة خاطئة عن معظم سيدات الكويت. النقطة الوحيدة التي أحسبها لصالح الزين.......هي عندما قالت أنها لن تتعتذر عن كونها ولدت في دولة غنية.......لكن كان المفروض أن تبين أن المرأة الكويتية تستطيع أن تستغل ثروتها بطريقة أفضل من التسوق في باريس و ميلانو.
ReplyDeleteOK.. it's Saturday morning on an empty stomach but here goes, point by point:
ReplyDelete1. Probably rich? If that is true, is it by marriage or daddy's money?
2. There's a huge difference between the words "most" and "many". The latter would've been more appropriate
3. No problem there
4. That could've been left out. I don't care if it's tradition, it's not something I want announced to the world.
5. If you read my previous posts, I never thought the word "commoner" was a big deal. As I recall when she got engaged, it wasn't a big "scandal" as Oprah tried to portray it. I didn't see any tabloids blowing up the issue like they do with European royalty.
6. That was just plain inaccurate.
7. That was unnecessary, and she just made it worse by saying you can blow your kids' future education money on your wedding dress.
I am not blaming Zein for ALL the embarrassing quotes on the show. Oprah is even more guilty, and so is her team of researchers who presented her with all the inaccurate facts. As a film maker, Zein is surely aware of how editing can affect the outcome of an interview and she should've been more careful. I'm willing to bet she said a lot more useful things that got edited out of the final cut.
Let's not forget also that it's Oprah not Ted Koppel or David Frost. She has to appeal to her less-than-sophisticated audience with the low IQs. You saw how the audience gasped every revelation.
And while I'm really glad that she plainly stated she was embarrassed because Kuwaiti women can't vote, I totally reject this "one step at a time" nonsense. And so should all of you women!!
Finally, and I have to repeat myself here, I wish Zein had talked about her personal accomplishments. That would've had a much greater impact and made us all very proud.
I found the interview very shallow
ReplyDeleteHealth 4 free: Ministry of Health has the 2nd largest budget in Q8 after defense.Where is all the money going since all the goverment hospitals are donaited by "commeners"
ReplyDeleteEducation: public education is shit (where is the beef)
I'm with Zaydoun in not reflecting the true Kuwaiti women here, & if she focused on what she accomplished it wouldn't be as bad. I hated the fact that q80 women looked spoiled & shallow !! a lot was unrealistic, really its a shame it was a good opportunity to talk about q80 women & show Kuwait as a country & not just a rich land with spoiled air headed people in it. I wished if we gained respect more than envy.
ReplyDeleteA. Operah is a merciless scavanger with a well defined agenda!
ReplyDeleteshe will pick what she wants and leave the rest out. You need to see a few shows before you judge this one.
B. Get over the last name, just because zain is Sobahi doesn't mean she represents the government!
C. Zain is representing 30 yr old women in Kuwait, not sobahi's, not governments, not younger or older. Focus people and stop generalizing!
The reason why she didn't speak of her accomplishments is because IT ISN'T ABOUT HER!
She has alot to show off about, but if she has mentioned anything about her own personal life! If she did that would trigger even more contraversy than there already is!
I think Zain gave oprah wut she wanted and in return was able to get a few points out about women's rights, if she didn't play along, Oprah would have found someone else!
Bravo Zain, to all women out there, don't be afraid to speak out..people will talk regardless, I say give them something worth talking about.
Girl Powa
Crispy Bacon, are you really her cousin? In that case شهد شاهد من أهلها
ReplyDeleteأبو حفص، كونها من بنات الأسرة الحاكمة لا يسجل ضدها فهي على الأقل أنجزت شيء أفضل من أن تجلس بطّالية بالبيت
I used to think that women avoided the spotlights out of sensitivity to men and their dominant role in society.
ReplyDeleteApparently that's all bullshit!
Women avoid the spotlights in fear of the cynical wives of the power houses.
Wives of top officials in the government, ministers and clerics, all the ladies who run the country from home can be merciless sometimes.
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ReplyDeleteoh come on ... thats our life style ... the girl can buy what ever she wants .... mako faqeeer bel kuwait ... o kelna neshtre eli nabi .. o ehi galat .. mo shar6 ekoon 3enda floos be7saba 3ashan ekoon `3ani .. thats why we have our own life style ... o tara u can construct a tennis court in a couple of days with a cost less than 500 kd in ur back yard ... ( which u took without any permission ) and without paying a files ... DO U GET THIS OUT SIDE KUWAIT ??? just be sensible . do u get a loan of 70,000 kd in a low intreset ?? to get u a big house ( which we see it as a normal house .. while its a mansion when other people see it ) . wala fi naas ma 3endaha floos o they have got ferrari`s ... why ?? !! because we can get a loan . JUST THINK
ReplyDeletei would like to comment on what she said about Kuwait University (KU). excuse me, Zein, but KU is not the best in the middle east. some faculty members are assigned to some courses without having the appropriate laboratory materials nor teaching assistant (TA). and it is fully immature to associate the education quality to gender ratio, as she did.
ReplyDeleteq8_uk: do not talk please about the governmental loan of KD 70,000 as if it is a favor; it is my right as a Kuwait citizen. Do you know that the Amir owns more than $ 20,000,000 (that is 20 billons); how did he make all that money? thus, I don?t appreciate what ever the country gives me as it is my right and all what should I do is to be "Good Citizen" as defined by the constitution and law not based on the royal family definition.