A female member of the Saudi Shura Council was the subject of Twitter attacks today, after reports that she had called for Saudi women to be recruited as workers.
Haya Al-Maniya received ridicule and anger, in response to her alleged suggestions that women from the South of Saudi Arabia should be recruited for jobs before migrant workers. Although it is unclear when Al-Maniya made the comments – or indeed if she made them at all – twitterers rallied around reports of what had been said.
Critics initially objected to the implication that women in the South, an area often regarded as marginalised in Saudi, should be employed in the areas like housework.
#هيا_المنيع_عضو_مجلس_الشورى
— ابهاويه (@bbii559) 21 April 2016
واضحه ان زوجها تزوج عليها جنوبية ولا طلقها عشان حبيبته جنوبية ولا ليش سبت فينا من بين كل بنات المملكة مسكينه
It's clear that her husband married a woman from the south, or divorced her because of his lover from the South. Otherwise why would she pick us of all the poor girls in the Kingdom to talk about about?
#هيا_المنيع_عضو_مجلس_الشوري
— ريما #طلال_سلامة (@rema1988m) 21 April 2016
ياالله وش هالعنصرية المفروض هالتصريح مايمر مرور الكرام
This is absolute discrimination, this statement should not pass peacefully.
But comments soon descended toward personal attacks on Al-Maniya.
لست جنوبيآ .
— Mansuor (@yooh5) 21 April 2016
ولكن لا أعلم إمرأة تصلح أن تكون زهرة في العالم البشع غير الجنوبيات .
#هيا_المنيع_عضو_مجلس_الشوري
I didn't think this mentality would be a member of the Shura Council... You crazy lady you aren't worth the ground we walk on.
رغم قذارة شوارعنا إلا إنها مازالت أنظف من عقول بعض المشاة عليها#حاسبوا_هيا_المنيع #هيا_المنيع_عضو_مجلس_الشوري
— من كل بلد صديق (@alriviera1) 21 April 2016
Despite the dirtiness of our streets, they are much cleaner than some people’s mentalities.
Al-Maniya is one of Saudi’s most liberal and controversial Shura Council members, and she’s become well known for campaigning for women to have the right to drive.
#هيا_المنيع_عضو_مجلس_الشوري
— سأطي (@Sarogant) 21 April 2016
تريد أن تشغل الرأي العام ليغضوا عن قيادة المراة لكن تالله لن تقودي
She wants people to forget about her demands for allowing women to drive, you will never drive in this country.
The slurs soon took on a obviously misogynistic tone, too:
محد قالكم ايدو دخول العنصر النسائي في الشورى #هيا_المنيع_عضو_مجلس_الشوري
— حمد الحقباني (@hamadalhoqbani) 21 April 2016
And this what happens when you elect women to Al Shoura council
