Oprah and Saudi Women, Essay Example

In the article “Watching Oprah from behind the veil,” Jacoby Jeff counterpoints Oprah Winfrey’s life to that of the Saudi Arabia women who are maltreated by the male-dominated society. Jacoby reveals that, despite Oprah growing up in pre-civil right Mississippi and poor, she did not experience the same challenges the Saudi women encounter. Unlike the Saudi women, Winfrey had the chance to attend school, get employed, and own businesses of her own. Saudi women have to get permission from their fathers to attend school. “They are forbidden to get a job without the permission of a male ‘guardian,’ and the majority of them are unemployed” (Jacoby p.368). Secondly, Oprah had a lot of freedom at her disposal, and he managed to run away from her home as a teenager after being sexually harassed severally. It shows that Winfrey had the will to make her own decisions. For Saudi women, “they are denied the right to make simplest decisions, treated by law like children who cannot be trusted with authority over their wellbeing” (Jacoby p.369).

Jacoby relies mostly on a point-by-point method to organize his comparison between Saudi women and Oprah. Jacoby keeps shifting from talking about Winfrey to talking about the Saudi Women and back to Winfrey. “she has been called the most influential woman of our time. They are among the most disempowered women on earth.” (Jacoby p.368). “she is a self-made billionaire, with worldwide interest that ranges from television to publishing to education. They are forbidden to get a job without the permission of a male ‘guardian,’ and a majority of them are unemployed” (Jacoby p.368). “she has a face that is recognized the world over. They cannot leave home without covering their face and obscuring their figure in a cloak” (Jacoby p.369). Yes, this method is most effective for this article. The point-by-point method helps Jacoby to clearly state the difference and similarity that exists between Saudi women and Oprah for his audience.

Work Cited

Jacoby Jeff. Watching Oprah from behind the veil. (2008). 368-371