THE TELEGRAPH: Five women presenters have resigned from the Arabic news channel Al-Jazeera after being accused of not dressing modestly enough.
In a row which has split the channel, the five complained about harassment from a senior editor, whom they accused of making "offensive remarks" about their appearance.
After the channel refused to back them, the five women, some of the best-known faces in the Middle East thanks to the channel's popularity, quit. Three others have registered protests while staying with the station.
An internal inquiry has since cleared the official, the deputy editor-in-chief Ayman Jaballah, and asserted that the channel had the right to dictate how its presenters appeared.
The women concerned in the latest clash are Jumana Nammour, Lina Zahr al Deen Jullinar Mousa, Luna al-Shibl and Nawfar Afli, the first three from Lebanon, the other two from Syria and Tunisia res[p]ectively.
All are relatively liberal societies, and the five appeared with their hair uncovered, in contrast to some of Al-Jazeera's other women presenters, as well as heavily made up.
According to sources within the channel, there had been an escalating conflict between the two sides, with Mr Jaballah in particular making repeated comments about the women's "clothes and decency".
The issue is likely to refocus attention on the difficulties Al-Jazeera faces in trying to reconcile its mission to be the BBC of the Middle East with the conservativism of some of the societies in which it broadcasts. >>> Richard Spencer in Dubai | Monday, May 31, 2010
