New Delhi: A Jordanian limited series, ALRawabi: School for Girls, found itself in the middle of a controversy after some critics pointed out that it did not represent life in Jordan accurately and was heavily influenced by western culture.
Released on the streaming service Netflix on 12 August, the six-episode series is set in a school in the Jordanian capital Amman and revolves around some female students plotting revenge against popular girls for bullying them. The series has also been described as the ‘Arab Mean Girls’, in a reference to the popular 2004 American teenage movie Mean Girls.
The show touches upon bullying, violence against women, including sexual violence and patriarchy in Arab society. It has been dubbed in 32 languages and is available to watch in 190 countries.
However, some Jordanians have called for the show’s removal from Netflix because of its “uncomfortable” content and projecting a “false image” of their society
“What angered some of the Jordanian public was the way the Jordanian girl appeared, and the frank sessions that brought together some girls the way they spoke and some words and insults, frankness and addressing special topics, which the Jordanian public objected to and found it a distortion of society and a false image of it,” noted a report in Middle East Eye.
Another report in Saudi 24 News said that the series courted controversy for its bold themes and scenes.
“Due to the boldness of its subject and many of its scenes, the series, since its launch on the American network, has sparked widespread controversy in Jordan, especially for its bold scenes in the context of the series dealing with issues of bullying, harassment, the stigma of psychological treatment, honor crimes, family disintegration, exploitation of minors, and misuse of social media platforms,” the report said.
The show is directed by Tima Al Shomali and is the second original Netflix show from Jordan after ‘Jinn’ (2019).
Social media users praise series
Meanwhile, social media users have praised the series.
Al Rawabi School for Girls is phenomenally problematic, but unfortunately depicts a small window into the cruelty of Arab girls and their justification of archaic ideals to destroy one another. #AlRawabiSchoolforGirls
— Lucy (@LucindaAnis) August 21, 2021
“Al Rawabi Girls Series – a very interesting Jordanian series that talks about bullying at school, which is a very common problem around the world and in the Middle East in particular. This series also touched upon other issues like harrassment and the prevailing patriarchal culture that affects every ‘Eastern’ woman,” said a Twitter user.
ممكن نتكلم عن مدرسة الروابي للبنات لايك جد فخوره اول مره اشوف عمل عربي بهذا الشكل يجنن حلوه القصه والتمثيل حلو والقضايا اللي طرحها المسلسل تمثل واقعنا من التنمر للعنف المنزلي لجرائم الشرف الخ … صراحه برافو ?????? pic.twitter.com/GtoQizOsgD
— الآنسه نقطة. (@zxxtr77) August 22, 2021
Another user tweeted: “Can we talk about Al-Rawabi Girls School? I am very proud. This is the first time I have seen such crazy good Arab work. The story and the acting are stupendous, and the issues raised by the series represent our reality — from bullying to domestic violence to honor crimes, etc. Frankly, Bravo.”
ممكن نتكلم عن مدرسة الروابي للبنات لايك جد فخوره اول مره اشوف عمل عربي بهذا الشكل يجنن حلوه القصه والتمثيل حلو والقضايا اللي طرحها المسلسل تمثل واقعنا من التنمر للعنف المنزلي لجرائم الشرف الخ … صراحه برافو ?????? pic.twitter.com/GtoQizOsgD
— الآنسه نقطة. (@zxxtr77) August 22, 2021
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