Fat-shamed by The Economist
To be fat-shamed by upmarket British magazine The Economist, first published 1843, is too much. Iraqi actress and TV personally Enas Taleb has called her lawyers after The Economist illustrated an article about obese Arab women with a picture of Taleb on stage. Her lawyers are now preparing to sue The Economist, she told magazine New Lines in an interview.
The article in The Economist has the headline “Why women are fatter than men in the Arab world”. The article stresses differences that make Arab women less physically active.
“Audiences have loved me for many years. It was disappointing to see an international outlet label me as if all my accomplishments mean nothing. I am healthy and happy with the way I look, and to me that is all that matters,” Taleb told New Lines.
She added that the article felt like an insult to all Arab women.
“I have decided to take legal action against The Economist for their cover story. I am demanding compensation for the emotional, mental and social damage this incident has caused me. My legal team and I are arranging the next steps,” she told New Lines that noted “it is difficult to find an example of an internationally respected publication that has held up a photo of a “fat” Western woman as a means of shaming her.”
”Despite what some are decrying as a contemptuous tone, The Economist’s piece touches on some of the factors that contribute to the obesity epidemic facing the Arab world, where women in particular are affected”, New Lines wrote noting cultural restrictions, lack of funding and initiatives to promote sports for women and culinary culture.
Taleb has participated in many movies and numerous TV-series. She is reported to have more than 9 million followers on Instagram.
New Lines, based in Massachusetts, USA, describes itself as is a magazine for the best ideas and writing about the Middle East and beyond.
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