I received a message on social media a few days ago, which spoke about inviting female employees of parliament for a workshop.
However, I found the title of the workshop, which loosely translated to: “Are you looking for feminine attraction” or “You wish to attract attention”, highly sexist and derogatory towards women.
It was not surprising, therefore, that there was a sharp reaction online to the words that had been used and most people who reacted expressed their indignation.
The question is, who was responsible for the draft and who were the officials who gave it the go-ahead without so much as even a look at what was being said.
The workshop was, no doubt, interesting but it was surely not marketed the way it should have been. The inappropriate choice of words, therefore, rightly faced the criticism that it did from the online community.
We must be aware that sophisticated marketing is one of the most important reasons for the success of any business or programme, and there are certain foundations and systems that make administrative work successful.
We all know that the media is a double-edged sword and must be dealt with very professionally. If we are to succeed in what we intend doing, there are specific rules to be followed and that includes seeing whether the content of what is going out to the public is appropriate and acceptable.
There exists a certain system in each organisation that oversees such matters and ensures that what goes out is not questioned by anyone, including the people, the media and the online community.
In most institutions, there is a specific person responsible for finally approving all communication. It is his or her job to see if anything sensitive, inappropriate, or, in this case, sexist, is being said. It was clear this golden rule was not followed in this case.
I realise that many will find that I am exaggerating. However, believe me, such matters, if left unattended, and not properly looked at, will ultimately reflect on the entire organisation and spoil the efforts of the whole team.
ztawfeeqi@gmail.com