Resource: The Rise of Divorce
Media Type:
QuickTime Video
Length: 2m 54s
Size: 4.5 MB
The goal of Kalam Nawaem, an all-female Arabic talk show, is to go beyond the topics generally directed at Arab women, such as fashion and beauty, and discuss matters of more pressing importance, such as divorce. The rise of divorce rates in the Arab world has concerned its women and some are questioning the institution of marriage. In this video from Wide Angle, the hosts of Kalam Nawaem tackle this pressing issue and open a dialogue for Arab women.
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Transcript (Rich Text Format Document)
Supplemental Media Available:
Middle East Map (GIF Image)
Egypt Map (JPEG Image)
Loading reviews...Teachers' Domain, The Rise of Divorce, published August 22, 2008, retrieved on ,
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/wa08.socst.world.glob.divorce/
- Background Essay
- Questions for Discussion
- Standards
Print Background EssayThe women of Kalam Nawaem, "Sweet Talk," discuss recent findings that divorce is on the rise in the Middle East. Topics they discuss touch on the possibility that men become dissatisfied in their marriages partly due to the provocative images of women they see on TV, and that family responsibilities and comfort levels might make women less keen on keeping up appearances over time in a marriage.
Prior to 1990, television viewers in the Arab world had to rely upon the state for their programming options. There were not many channels available, and what was available was subject to government oversight. Since 1990, however, satellite TV has emerged as a popular alternative to standard broadcast stations. Currently, there are more than 200 satellite channels available, many of which confront formerly taboo topics such as sex education, homosexuality, domestic abuse, and gender inequality. The dramatic growth in independent journalism has led to live reporting, news analysis, political debates, and talk shows.
MBC was the first independent Arabic satellite television station, and it serves more than 130 million people around the world. One of its most popular shows is Kalam Nawaem, an all-female talk show. (Kalam Nawaem translates to English as Soft Talk, or Sweet Talk.) There are four hostesses who come from different backgrounds, and their goal is to discuss both new and frequent issues in the Arab world.
There are two parts to Kalam Nawaem. First, there is the celebrity feature, a portion of the show where there is an appearance by a celebrity guest. An informal conversation with the guest is followed by questions from the audience. Second, and perhaps more importantly, there is the lively discussion of controversial issues. The hostesses - Lebanese Rania Barghoot, Palestinian Farah Bseiso, Egyptian Dr. Fawziah Salamah, and Saudi Muna Abu Suleiman - hope that bringing these issues to light will create a dialogue about finding solutions that all people will accept and support.
In the episode entitled "Dishing Democracy," Wide Angle goes behind the scenes at Kalam Nawaem to discover how these four hostesses are boldly and effectively encouraging social reform within the Arab world.
We assign reference terms to each statement within a standards document and to each media resource, and correlations are based upon matches of these terms for a given grade band. If a particular standards document of interest to you is not displayed yet, it most likely has not yet been processed by ASN or by Teachers' Domain. We will be adding social studies and arts correlations over the coming year, and also will be increasing the specificity of alignment.Source: Wide Angle: "Dishing Democracy"
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