Outrage After Arab TV Racist Portrayal of Sudanese People

Egyptian actress Shimaa Seif has faced backlash after appearing on a Ramadan TV prank show, “Elshak2labaz”, on MBC Masr in blackface in a demeaning imitation of a Sudanese woman.

Dressed in the Sudanese toub, Seif attempts to speak in the Sudanese Arabic dialect, sings, jokes and even pretends to drink alcohol while on a minibus, in an effort to be an uncomfortable bus passenger to prank other bus passengers.

The TV show was met with outrage by Sudanese viewers on social media, calling the show and Seif insulting and racist; and called for boycotting MBC Masr for airing the show, using the hashtag “boycott MBC Masr” in Arabic. MBC Masr has removed some of the episodes of the show from their social media platforms.

Racist act from you #شيماء_سيف you have to apolgize for your actions to the sudanese puplic pic.twitter.com/j1dC4gtHGk

— Samah mahmoud (@samah11khider) May 10, 2019

Sometimes you ask yourself,no one in the production,filming,marketing team , mentioned that the #blackface is freaking racist and wt she is doing isn’t funny, it’s freaking racist, not even one sane person said that,it’s not a joke it can’t be aired ?? #شيماء_سيف pic.twitter.com/iBOfeuFcwd

— lana (@lanaadil) May 10, 2019

مروة قررت ترد علي #شيماء_سيف #اعتصام_القياده_العامه pic.twitter.com/cu4AqmfkMo

— Wafaa tageldin🇸🇩 (@wafaa_tageldin) May 13, 2019

An apology from Seif surfaced on social media where she apologised to her Sudanese fans, saying she is a comedian and it was meant to make people laugh and did not mean to offend or insult anyone. However, there are doubts whether that apology was truly made by her as it does not appear on her official social media accounts.

This is a clear message from Shimaa Seif that all the apologies circulating around social media are not hers. In other words, she’s not sorry for what she did to the Sudanese people. #شيماء_سيف
This is from her verified instagram account. pic.twitter.com/1tCcVG5ipl

— Mohamed Magdi (@moeMsays) May 11, 2019

شهر رمضان هو

شهر التسامح وتقبل الآخر..

ولكن بعض برامجه

عنصرية!#شباب_توك pic.twitter.com/u3lRVoRcax

— Jaafar Abdul Karim (@jaafarAbdulKari) May 13, 2019

Seif has previously made racist remarks about people who are black or dark-skinned. 

So here’s Shaima Saif on a talk show telling other guests not to say the word “nigger” as it is offensive. She attempts to advise them to refer to dark-skinned or black people as “Burnt dark-skinned people” instead.

And they’re laughing! Cause apparently it’s a laughing matter. https://t.co/QFGlMCEBYc

— Ola Diab (@TheRealOlaDiab) May 12, 2019

On the same day, on 12 May, another video appeared on social media of a prank show on Libya Al-Ahrar TV channel with yet another actress in blackface, imitating a Sudanese woman who leaves her children in a non-moving elevator with other passengers, only to discover the children they are stuck with are actual monkeys.

This is probably the worst example I’ve seen of blackface on Arab TV. “African” woman surprising people with her monkey “children”. Also a prank show being broadcast during this Ramadan, on Libya al-Ahrar TV channel pic.twitter.com/nvjRjbqQVK

— Abdirahim Saeed (@AbdirahimS) May 12, 2019

Like Elshak2labaz, the controversial prank show caused outrage on social media.

كاميرا خفية من ليبيا تتقمص شخصية المرأة السودانية مع blackface وتمثيل ان اولادها قرود
البرنامج اسمه الكاميرا الخفية مع منيرة pic.twitter.com/Q3GF2tENP7

— Hanي Alhassaن (@Hani_Alhassan) May 12, 2019

Who needs to look for the new moon? We’ll know it’s Ramadan when Arab channels roll out their blackface “comedy” shows. This time, a Libyan hidden camera show is portraying a “Sudanese” mother (actress in blackface wearing a tobe incorrectly) with babies who are literal monkeys. https://t.co/xwVAlqSKu8

— Hind Makki (@HindMakki) May 13, 2019

The Libyan actress, Monera Blrwen, issued an official apology and said they have removed the episodes and are dedicating a whole episode to Sudanese people to clarify and apologise for the demeaning portrayal of Sudanese women.

During the holy month of Ramadan, TV shows are quite popular with dozens of Arabic drama, comedy and talk shows. In the past, there have been several racist TV shows targeting and mocking Sudanese, their culture, language and colour. Just last Ramadan, there were many cases of racist content on Arab TV channels, causing outrage on social media.

The Egyptian comedy series, “Azmi we Ashgan“, created by Egyptian producer Ahmed Al Sobki, featured the lead actors donning blackface repeatedly throughout the series, using racist language such as the n-word and portraying black people as servants. In addition, the Kuwaiti comedy series, “Block Ghashmara“, aired a whole episode with actors in blackface demeaning Sudanese people and portraying them as lazy and cynical.