JEDDAH — Saudi men and women are using Twitter as a battlefield ground to attack each other through hashtags (the symbol #) Saudi men are usually described as infidels and control freaks when it comes to their wives while men accuse women of being too demanding and spend a lot of money on shopping. By creating hashtags such as “how to marry another woman” and “polygamy” some men express their opinions of how to punish a woman by marrying a second wife from a different nationality for example. While many women in some of these hashtags encourage Saudi single women of marrying from another nationality where men are more sensitive to their wives' feelings and treat them nicely. Saudi Gazette interviewed several women and men to understand their point of view on this mini Twitter war. Dina Abdullah, a financial analyst said, “I don't mind having hashtags on any issue related to men or women or marriage. In my opinion, sometimes there are offensive subjects such as polygamy. I still think it is necessary to discuss all topics to exchange knowledge. It doesn't have to be a discussion for the sake of persuading someone to follow a certain trend. What is really annoying is when they turn these hashtags into intense debates and throw insults and mock others disrespectfully.” Abduallah Al-Saeed, a blogger, said, “ I do not mind these hashtags, as long as those who write them are having rational discussions as well as expressing their opinions in an appropriate way.” On the other hand, some women assume that such hashtags are offensive and could impact the relationship between both genders. Sausan Khalid, a 22-year-old student, said, “These hashtags may have a role in igniting fire and hatred between women and men in society and it is a way to let men exploit women through getting married several times.” She said. “Of course it will have a negative impact on society, because these hashtags affect our way of thinking and confuse us. Since many people could be easily persuaded by discussions in such hashtags, especially that some of the tweets are against women.” She suggested not writing in these hashtags as the best way for not spreading hatred between Saudi men and women. Other women think that some of these hashtags tackle important issues such as marriage. Sara Almahdi, a 26-year-old wife, said, “Polygamy is a real issue in our society and it is spreading. The media and our society are the reasons behind this phenomenon.” Faisal Abdulhameed, also a blogger, said, “Sometimes there are discussions between men and women on Twitter through hashtags about women driving for example. One thing I learned for sure is that many of us lack debate protocols where I have a different opinion yet I respect other opinions. Sadly, it was projected as a war between Saudi men and women in which men won at the end. Some of the remakes by top scholars and opinion writers were disappointing because they attacked women who asked for the right to drive.”
