CNN has a story today about how women in Arab countries are overwhelmingly portrayed as submissive and weak in the media. In soap opera storylines, they are often placed in violent situations where they are being beaten by a male relative to save the family honor or even set on fire. In one scenario, two women are shown competing for the approval of their husband. And, of course, all are usually covered from head to toe. This last detail is a far cry from the way we’re portrayed in Latin telenovelas or, as witnessed by the above photograph from game show classic Sabado Gigante, on Univision’s longest running variety show. But a video after the jump says there is a growing movement in Arab countries for women to be portrayed in more modern roles such as that of lawyers, architects and judges.

Buthainna Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia’s first woman journalist, hosts a show that discusses these issues each week. But why isn’t there such a show on any of the American sponsored, Latin television networks? While the situation remains in the dark ages for Arab women—This video shows a televised debate between Nassr and a Saudi cleric on whether women should be allowed to show themselves on television— it seems western values are mostly offering Latin men the winning end of the stick. The entire CNN report on Arab media’s treatment of women is below. You’ve seen Latin television. What do you think?