Where are the Women of Substance?

Top Stories

Where are the Women of Substance?

Published: Mon 9 Jan 2017, 1:41 PM

Last updated: Tue 10 Jan 2017, 11:22 AM

When I examine the famous female faces of the last year, I can't help but notice an alarming discord. Obviously, the Kardashians, the Jenners, Taylor Swifts and a herd of lemming 'it girls' dominated magazine covers. The headlines, interviews and features regurgitated all the banal details of their lives, from the men they dated, the fights they had, the clothes they wore, the food they ate, the followers they influenced, the new pets they bought . . . How much useless information do we really need to know?

Where are the actual interesting women who did something worthwhile this year? The portrayal of women in the media is a reoccurring subject, I know, but before you roll your eyes, just think about this.

Amy Schumer, Anna Kendrick, Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Watson whose work on and off screen, whose thoughts and actions impressed us more than their scandals, feuds or style didn't get as much media attention as they deserved (it was in fact a drop in the bucket of compared to the social media reality stars and the crap they got up to). Their stances on women's rights, pay gap, politics and social issues are relevant and imperative for us to know. Surely, there can't just be two groups of females that young girls should aspire to be like?

There is a third group, but it seems they have to be either married to or involved with a man for us to take notice of them. Amal Clooney, we know her right? Activist, author and human rights lawyer, she's worked as an adviser to Kofi Annan in the Joint Special Envoy of the UN and Arab League on Syria and was selected to be part of a three person UN commission investigating rules of war violations in the Gaza strip. Her clients have included Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, the former prime minister of Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko, and Egyptian-Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy. She then married George Clooney. And now there are hundred of blogs dedicated to what she wears and how she wears it. It boggles the mind that someone like Amal Clooney can be turned into a one-dimensional character whose greatest achievement, in the wider world, is marrying an actor.

I thought of Amal Clooney recently on the day social media decided to spontaneously combust when Prince Harry's rumoured girlfriend was revealed to the world. Many of you may have seen her power walking in super sexy corporate clothing and high heels, her hair swishing back and forth on the hit show Suits. But after last year, those who didn't know Meghan Markle definitely know her now outside of her "smartest paralegal on the planet" character. Oh yeah, that's Prince Harry's girlfriend. Well, shockingly enough, she's much more than an actress or a girlfriend.

When Meghan Markel fell under the microscope for the wrong reasons, media outlets started to report on all the "scandalous" things she might have been involved in, along with the impressive things that she's achieved. From starting and writing all the content for her own lifestyle website, The Tig, to being socially aware and fighting for women's rights from the age of 11. In 2015 Meghan spoke on gender equality at the annual conference of One Young World, in 2016 she became the Global Ambassador for World Vision Canada where she travelled to Rwanda to help promote the Clean Water Campaign and has worked for United Nations Women as part of the HeforShe gender equality movement that was started by Emma Watson. The world never knew this about Meghan until after she became involved with Prince Harry.

I don't know why it's easier for us to focus on the fame hungry and repetitive narratives and representation of women in pop culture and society. Certainly, I thought, there must have been more positive representations of real women doing important things in the last year? Unfortunately not. When I delved through 2016's headlines I was saddened to see that the mainstream coverage on women made me feel similar to completing a full course meal at The Cheesecake Factory. Sickened.

The truth is there are many inspirational and successful women who are only recognised for their value when they are connected with a famous man. It makes me wonder how many more women out there are trying to change the world for the better but don't get the credit and gratitude they deserve.
As a writer, one thing I can add to my list of resolutions is to help bring recognition to some of these women, whether they are rumored to be involved, are actually involved, are about to get married or are married to a man or not.

By Maan Jalal
 maan@khaleejtimes.com

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

More news from