Between Truth and Bias: What Do Google Search Results in Arabic Tell Us About Women?

Dear readers,

I would like to share with you a problem that may everyone faces, but one that often goes unnoticed. It's as if we're under the influence of a drug that completely paralyzes our consciousness, and we're programmed to accept a condition that hinders our development as individuals and as a society.

The problem lies in Google's Arabic search results, especially when we search for information about women and their achievements throughout history.

A few days ago, I posed a simple question to Google: Did women contribute to the invention of the airplane?

I was shocked to find that most of the search results were unrelated to the question itself, but focused on questions like: Is it permissible for women to fly? Does a woman's physiology allow them to fly? Even though the woman who contributed to the invention of the airplane was not Arab.

Although there were a few articles that discussed women's participation in the invention of the airplane, they were very few compared to the irrelevant responses. However, when I typed the same question in English, I received results rich with accurate and reliable historical information.

That leads me to wonder: Is there a clear bias against women in Arab societies by search engines like Google? Or do the research results reflect the awareness of society itself?

No matter how hard we try to deny it, women in Arab countries have no voice and face an ongoing war to suppress them, using religion as a powerful tool of oppression, with fatwas that have no connection to divine commandments. Furthermore, regressive customs and traditions marginalize women's roles and limit them to serving the home and their husbands. 

I do not mean in any way to diminish the value of a woman who chooses to be a wife and mother; this is her choice and her full right. However, I reject and condemn all practices that diminish the status of women and their human rights. Even if a woman chooses this role, does she have the right to make decisions freely in her home? Does she live in an environment that respects her dignity, free from humiliation or physical violence? Does she feel safe and stable, or could she be expelled or neglected at any moment without a law and society that protects her rights? 

The issue is not limited to women working or staying at home; it is rather a societal issue that does not view women as competent human beings with reason, thought, and accomplishments. Even worse, the war against women is also waged in search engines. When someone searches for women's achievements, they find disappointing results that only speak of male-dominated religious commands, not from God. They are nothing more than human endeavors that reinforce discrimination, leading to the killing of any passion they may have. 

Therefore, I call on every conscious and educated person to:

• Write historical and scientific articles  in Arabic that highlight the role of women in all fields.
• Demand that Google improve its search algorithms and not display results that diminish or frustrate women when we search for their achievements.
• Can you share with me suggestions to raise awareness in the community?

We need cooperation to raise the voices of women in the Arab world, which has long told them that their voices are a sin.