Group of harassers hand out popcorn and soda to onlookers
Al Hudoud is an Arabic news publication focused on satirical journalism. When asked how they deal with gender, their editor-in-chief Isam Uraiqat says “we deal with issues thorugh satire, not plain humour.”
“We don’t make fun of the issue, but of the people, the culprits and society,” he adds. “Communicating these issues in most traditional formats falls on deaf ears and usually preaches to the converted. We believe we are able to reach a bigger and much more diverse audience with satire and in this way challenge the way they see society and themselves.”
Al Hudoud’s stories are perceived by some readers as highlighting the absurdities of male guardianship, cleverly dissecting gender norms and masterfully shaming society for tolerating sexual harassment. At the same time, the stories “arouse strong emotions which are actually rarely just laughter. Sometimes it truly is just tears because of the seriousness of the issues,” according to Uraiqat. “Our audiences mostly react with mixed feelings. Even those who also laugh when they read our articles, still take the issues seriously. Many don’t perceive our satire as funny necessarily or as just entertainment. But at the end it is always different how people deal with it, which is great because it sparks a lot of deep conversations on these topics.”
