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In a recent interview with TV host Rabia ZayyatLebanese chef and media personality Abir El Saghir sparked backlash after sharing her problematic and archaic views on women’s freedoms.
When asked what she thinks of women’s rights, she said that although she believes that having freedom is great, the issue of women’s freedom is now being taken “in the wrong way.” She argued that some women now want to go wherever they please without restrictions, and that is beyond what she considers appropriate.
Though it is a fundamental right that women should be entitled to by virtue of being a human being, El Saghir believes that perhaps women are taking it too far…by simply wanting to make their own decisions.
The idea that women’s rights have “gone too far” is hard to reconcile with the legal reality facing women in Lebanon and in many places around the world. Lebanese women are still prevented from passing nationality to their children or foreign spouses, and matters such as marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance are largely governed by misogynistic personal status laws that often treat women differently from men. Fathers also frequently retain greater legal authority over children under some legal regulations.
While progress has been made, Lebanese women continue to push for equal rights under the law, showing that the struggle for gender equality is still ongoing.
Here are some reactions to the interview:
We would like to remind El Saghir that her successful career as a chef and media personality is, in part, a product of the very advances in women’s rights she now believes have gone too far.
Lebanese TikToker Rita Khayat also weighed in on Abir’s statements and responded with the below video:
If you don’t want to go out and about, by all means, don’t—feminism, believe it or not, allows you to make your own decisions. However, it is very hypocritical when you’re benefiting from the freedom to build a public career while criticizing other women for exercising that same freedom differently. The very principles that made your career possible are the ones that protect every woman’s right to choose her own path, whether that means staying at home, building a business, or anything in between.
The very principle behind women’s rights is that every woman should be free to decide for herself. We don’t think it’s that difficult of a concept.
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