Last month, the world was thrilled by “Hwages”, a music video boldly defying stereotypes of Saudi women.
The clip, featuring roller-blading, basketball-boat-wearing Saudi women, has achieved international success, with nearly eight million views and 100,000 likes in less than two months.
Going beyond the numbers, what greater indication could there be of this triumph than for Majed Alesa’s video to inspire others?
You know what they say - imitation is the highest form of flattery - and it looks like a new music video set in India is giving Hwages a great big compliment.
Released last week, the video accompanying British indie-rock band Wild Beasts’ new single “Alpha Female”, has already sparked comparisons with Hwages.
Filmed in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, Alpha Female shares quite a few features with its Saudi counterpart.
Skateboarding girls? Check. Fusion of traditional clothing and modern accessories? Check. Fierce women disregarding the patriarchal gaze? Check.
It is not altogether surprising that director Sasha Rainbow chose to play on the similarities between India and Saudi Arabia. Both have deep-rooted problems with regard to women’s rights.
Saudi women do not have the right to drive, wear what they want or take basic decisions about their lives without the permission of a male relative.
Meanwhile, in India a rape takes place every twenty minutes, according to some estimates. In the capital Delhi, 140 cases of rape and 238 cases of molestation were registered by police in the first month of this year alone. The problem, as in all societies, is exacerbated by victim-blaming attitudes at an institutional level.
At a political level, women hold 12 percent of seats in Indian parliament. In Saudi Arabia, a quota has ensured a “respectable” 20 percent representation since women were given the right to hold public office, only a few years ago. Just a reminder: women are around 51 percent of the population.
The only way to respond to these figures, it seems, is to join in the refrain of Hwages: "May all men be erased as they've hurt us psychologically."
RA
