MBC 4 last week launched a new campaign under the hashtag #كوني_حرة (#BeFree) on their twitter page with an aim to empower women in the Middle East. The Saudi based channel which has a particular focus on women and families received a huge backlash on twitter, with many people claiming that the TV channel was encouraging Muslim women to go against religious and social norms.
#كوني_حرة avoid using terms refers to freedom I'm sure you guys have applied the Webster dictionary meaning. Try to use motivated terms #MBC
— Dalal A. Al Hamdan (@Dalal770) April 3, 2017
One woman criticised the campaign for the wording of their slogan, claiming that the word ‘freedom’ is loaded.
Public figure Sheikh Mohammad Al Habdan, a member of the ‘Association of Islamic Scholars’ also expressed his disapproval of the campaign and of MBC channel in general.وقفات مع الحملة المباركة ضد قنوات : Mbc #كوني_حرة #ام_بي_سي_تعتذر pic.twitter.com/Crbtti1Bsz
— د.محمد #الهبدان (@dralhabdan) April 5, 2017
He called on people to boycott MBC channel and it’s sponsors, as well as to establish a body of youth to monitor the actions of the site and businesses which support it.
Another critic of the campaign was Majid Al Roili, who shared a snapchat video declaring that the campaign was for moral degeneracy not liberty.
#كوني_حرة !
— معالي الربراري (@Mrbrary) April 5, 2017
مقطع مهم للأخ ماجد الرويلي ..
mbc pic.twitter.com/iGsNxBBo6w
'MBC recently launched a malignant and dirty campaign that tells our daughters and sisters to be free. Our daughters are free and are daughters of free people! Those in need of freedom are the slaves of the embassies and of the dollar. Unfortunately many of the Arab nations think that MBC represents Saudis, but it does not. I hope that the ministry of culture and media will take action in response to this campaign. The ministry should close the offices and deport the employees, otherwise the ministry is in agreement with their views. If you don’t agree with what MBC is broadcasting then deport them! Otherwise take their material and broadcast it on ‘Saudi channel’. This is a campaign for moral degeneracy not for liberty.'
MBC 4 has now removed the tweets from their page after intense social pressure.
SE
Follow the Loop on Twitter and Facebook
