AKEED, Anwar Ziadat

Headlines of some news websites about the participation of Jordan’s national team in the Women's Asian Cup included misogynist and abusive language. The comments on social media were also insulting to women.

The role of media is to report on the matches and draft technical analyses professionally and objectively. The media should steer clear of the professional and ethical violations that accompanied the coverage of the three successive losses of the Jordanian women's team against the Philippines (2-1), Thailand (6-1) and China (8-1).

The Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (AKEED) found several discriminatory headlines. They include: "Humiliating Defeat of Jordanian Women at Conclusion of Asian Journey," "Culture of Winning and Losing … and Creation of Illusion," "Manicure Team," and "Who’s Responsible for Disaster of Jordan Women’s Team?"

The most prominent violation of the ethics of the profession was the report published under the headline "Losers Let Jordan Down," on one of the websites. Faced with a wave of criticism, the website changed the headline to "Players Let Jordan Down." However, it has remained unchanged on social media pages.

Social media sites were rife with comments involving negative and insulting stereotypes including associating women with the kitchen.  Some of these comments were:

• Even the neighborhood kids can beat them. Women are not cut out for football...they are meant to hang  out at malls and have burger… zinger … nutella … kitchen … washing dishes … cooking. Damn them, they better stay home. 
• Damn them … wearing makeup as if they were going to a wedding … they have no idea what they’re doing.
• Off to the kitchen captain. You’re better off scoring goals by learning how to cook a few dishes. Go do the dishes. Where are the women? … all I see are men.
• You shamed us among the Arabs! We complain about lack of funds, when we should have used the money to get a good coach for the men's team in the hope they will do us proud rather than disappoint us.
• They should marry them off … women’s right to play football … yeah sure!

Hiba Sabbagh, media officer in the Local Organizing Committee of the Asian Cup and member of the Jordan Press Association Council, told AKEED that "in any sports tournament, the media focuses on two things: organization and results. Local and foreign media showed great interest in the tournament. This has not been confined to specialized media. This shows the extent of media interest in this event in general."

She added that "the fans and the media are greatly affected by the results. The first match of the national team was attended by 10,000 people. When the team wins, you have greater attendance in the second match. But when it loses, less people show up. As for coverage, the headlines are positive in a win and negative in a loss."

She pointed out that some headlines and reports exceeded professional norms, such as the headline "Losers Let Jordan Down" and others. Attention should be given to regulating the profession and concerned organizations such as the Jordan Press Association and the Sports Information Federation should monitor the media and put an end to such violations.

She noted that the players should not be blamed for the results as there are other factors.

She added "as a matter of fact, we do not have a real system for women’s football in Jordan. We also do not have regular tournaments to improve performance of players. If we compare Jordan to Japan, Jordan selected the team from a limited number of players, when Japan had more than 50,000 women players to choose from.” She said, "journalists might have raised expectations because they’re not aware of the actual level of the team, as they do not accompany the players on training camps. On the other hand, 15 journalists accompanied  the Thai team to Jordan."

Regarding comments posted on social media sites, she said: "There are several factors here.  Some people comment without having enough awareness. Some are affected by winning or losing. There are people who are very negative and others who are objective."

She noted that "being able to post comments directly on social media sites through smart phones made some people think they are not accountable, when they should always commit to ethics.”

Hala Ahed, lawyer and rights activist, told AKEED that "comments on social media sites are subject to the Penal Code in case of abusive language that could amount to  contempt and libel." She added that "comments related to associating women with the kitchen and others, are due to the stereotypical images of women in society, in addition to linking defeat to a deficiency in women." She added: We do not see such stereotypical comments when men’s teams fail.”

She said: "the comments reflect a condescending and negative view of women with total disregard of the factors that caused the defeat of the team.”  She noted that what is published on social media sites reflects the way society views women. This view is sometimes marked by stereotypes that deny the right of women to play other roles.

She added that "social media is a reflection of society and the traditional view of women. It is also a result of some legislation that discriminates against women. The use of such language is due to lack of media literacy in society and flawed interaction with social media sites." Social media provides a platform for everybody to publish, but the ability to do that does not mean violating the rights of others; criticism has to be objective and ethical, she added.