The Economist Faces Backlash Including Lawsuit From Iraqi Actress for Article That Body Shamed Arab Women
reported Wednesday.“If there’s a student who goes to school and hears mean comments and students bullying her for being fat, how would she feel?” Taleb, who will sue the magazine for defamation, told The AP. “This article is an insult not only to me but a violation of the rights of all Iraqi and Arab women.”The article, titled, “Why women are fatter than men in the Arab world,” used a photo of Taleb onstage at an arts festival for its featured image.While the article, published in late July, sought to investigate possibilities for the obesity gap between men and women in the Middle East, as been criticized by Taleb and others for body shaming women, using the word, “fat,” six times.