This study examines the portrayal of Arab women in both Arab and Western newspapers in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. It aims to uncover concealed ideologies, concepts, and beliefs held by Arab and Western societies regarding Arab women. Employing Fairclough's three-dimensional Approach to Discourse Analysis as a theoretical framework, the analysis considers the dimensions of discourse fragment (text), discursive practices, and the power dynamics inherent in discourse. Additionally, the study adopts a qualitative approach for collecting and analysing the selected data. Four prominent newspapers, namely the Washington Post, Daily Mail, Arab News, and Gulf Times, were chosen for the study. The findings reveal notable disparities in the depiction of Arab women in Arab and Western media. In Arab newspapers, Arab women are often portrayed as empowered, respected, skilled, educated, and capable contributors to economic and social life. They are occasionally depicted as businesswomen and leaders. Conversely, some Western media tend to portray Arab women as oppressed, subjugated, veiled, plagued by inequality, hidden from view, and restricted by religious rules concerning marriage and dress. They are even referred to as literal odalisques. The study concludes that these varied depictions stem from distinct ideologies prevalent in Arab and Western media. The insights derived from this research regarding the diverse portrayals of Arab women and the influence of different ideologies in Arab and Western media can be valuable for academics, government officials, and community organizations seeking innovative perspectives on women's media representation and active participation in society.

Keywords: Arab women; Arab Spring; Western media; Arab media; Critical discourse analysis

Abu-Lughod, L. (2002). Do Muslim women really need saving? Anthropological reflections on cultural relativism and its others. American Anthropologist, 104(3), 783–90.

Aburwein, H. (2003). The Negative Image of the Arab Woman in the Western Literature. European Forum of Muslim Women.

Afshar, H. (2016). Women in the Middle East: perceptions, realities and struggles for liberation. Springer.

Al Ali, N. (2008). Iraqi women and gender relations: Redefining difference. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 35(3), 405-418.

Al-Ali, N. (2012). Gendering the Arab Spring. Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication, 5, 26-31.

Al-Saraaj, S. (2010). Feminist Journalism in Iraq, Its Origins and Development, Unpublished MA Thesis, College of Arts, Department of Media, University of Baghdad.

Arieff, A. (2011). Political transition in Tunisia (pp. 151-43). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.

Asl, M. P. (2018). Practices of Counter-Conduct as a Mode of Resistance in Middle East Women's Life Writings. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature®️ The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 24(2) 383-401. doi:10.1080/14631369.2018.1429892

Ayotte, K., & Husain, M. (2005). Securing Afghan women: Neocolonialism, epistemic violence, and the rhetoric of the veil. NWSA Journal, 17(3), 112–133.

Bajri, I. A., & Alqurayqiri, A. A. (2022). The Rescue Discourse: Representations of Saudi Women in the Western Media. World Journal of English Language, 12(8), 450-450.

Bashatah, N. S. (2017). Framing analysis of British Newspaper Representation of Saudi Women from 2005- 2013, A PHD thesis submitted to The University of Salford.

Brodolini, F. G., Giomi, E. G., Sansonetti, S., & Tota, A. L. (2013). Women and girls as subjects of media’s attention and advertisement campaigns: The situation in Europe, best practices and legislations. European Union: Policy Department C: Citizens᾽ Rights and Constitutional Affair. Retrieved from

https://ces.to/aUAjwZ

Ellemers, N. (2017). Gender Stereotypes. Annual Review of Psychology.

Elyas, T., & Abdulrahaman, S. A. (2020). Representations of Western Newspapers on Saudi Male's Guardianship System & Women's Freedom to Travel: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Contemporary Review of the Middle East; 7(3), 1–24.

Elyas, T., Aljabri, A., Al‐Harbi, N., & A‐Jahani, A. (2022). Colours and Orientalism as associations: Exploring the semiotic (re) presentation of Saudi women in British and Saudi newspapers. Digest of Middle East Studies, 31(3), 228-252.

Espinosa, D. (2010). Running head: gender roles in the media gender roles in the media and debunking society’s stereotypes: Glee as a pop-culture reflection. Unpublished Thesis, Winona State University. http://www.winona.edu/counseloreducation/images/danya_espinosa_capstone.pdf

Fairclough, N. (1989). Language and Power. New York: Longman Group Ltd.

Fajoye, A. J., & Omipidan, I. (2023). Media portrayal of cross dressers in Nigeria: positive or negative influence on the society? Multidisciplinary Journal of Vocational Education & Research, 5(1), 66-77.

Farooq, F., Sajid, M. A., & Maryam, F. (2021). Image of Muslim Women and Media Discursivity: A Case Study of the Washington Post’s Discourses. Review of Applied Management and Social Sciences, 4(1), 123-129

Hajimohammadi, A. (2011). Critical analysis of women's representation in T.V. advertisements from a cultural studies perspective. Int. J. Women’s Res, 1, 107–122.

Hamid, M. A., Basid, A., & Aulia, I. N. (2021). The reconstruction of Arab women role in media: a critical discourse analysis. Social Network Analysis and Mining, 11, 1-12.

Jiwani, Y. (2006). Discourses of Denial: Mediations of Race, Gender, and Violence. Vancouver: UBC Press.

Jonah, A. A., & Nnanyelugo, O. M. (2020). Print media representation of Nigerian women in the news: a study of four selected national newspapers. Library Philosophy and Practice, 3(2), 39-62.

Karolak, M., & Guta, H. (2020). Saudi Women as Decision Makers: Analyzing the Media Portrayal of Female Political Participation in Saudi Arabia, Journal of Women of the Middle East and the Islamic World, 18(1), 75–95.

Kasirye, F. (2021). The Portrayal of Muslim Women in Western Media. A Content Analysis of the New York Times and The Guardian. Advance; Sage Preprints Community.

Khalili, L. (2010). The new (and old) classics of counterinsurgency. Middle East Report.

Labidi, I. B. (2022). Hybrid ethnicities, fashionable bodies and unruly transgressors: Fetishizing Arab ‘first ladies’ in western media1. Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research, 15(2), 227-248.

Mishra, S. (2007). Liberation’ vs. ‘purity’: Representations of Saudi women in the American press and American women in the Saudi press. The Howard Journal of Communications, 18, 259–76.

Navarro, L. (2010). Islamophobia and sexism: Muslim women in the Western mass media.” Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge, 8(2), 95–114.

Obermeyer, C. M. (1992). Islam, Women, and Politics: The Demography of Arab Countries. Population and Development Review, 18(1), 33–60. https://doi.org/10.2307/1971858

Oumlil, K. (2016). Alternative media, self-representation and Arab-American women. Journal of Alternative and Community Media, 1(3), 41-55.

Popova, D. (2010). Gender stereotypes in advertising. Годишник на Бургаски свободен университет, 23(1), 55-59.

Power, K., Rak, L., & Kim, M. (2019). Women in business media: A Critical Discourse Analysis of representations of women in Forbes, Fortune and Businessweek, 2015-2017. Presented at CADAAD 2018, Aalborg, Denmark.

Rahman, B. (2012). Framing of Pakistani Muslim women in international media: Muslim feminist’s perspective. American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 2(1), 106–113.

Rapitse, S., Mukurunge, T., & Bhila, T. (2019). Exploring print media coverage of female politicians in lesotho.

Shamsuddin, C. M., & Hamid, B. A. (2017). Representational meanings of gender stereotyped professional occupation images in selected Malaysian English language textbooks. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature®️ The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 23(4), 128 – 142.

Shang, H. (2015). Portrayal of Thailand: A comparative study of American and Chinese films. An MA thesis submitted to the Graduate School of Bangkok University.

Solomon, E. (2006). Women’s roles in the media: attitudes towards gender issues in six Tanzanian newspapers. A Master's thesis, submitted to Tampere University.

Sriwimon, L., & Zilli, P. (2017). Applying Critical Discourse Analysis as a conceptual framework for investigating gender stereotypes in political media discourse. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 38. 10.1016/j.kjss.2016.04.004

Van Dijk, T. A. (1993). Principles of critical discourse analysis. Discourse and Society, 4(2), 249–283.