LONDON: Kuwait’s first virtual news anchor Fedha has been making the headlines for the wrong reasons among many Arab social media commentators.
Despite having a popular Kuwaiti name, the artificial intelligence-powered presenter, who made her debut on Kuwait News’ Twitter account on Saturday, has blonde hair, a pale complexion, and what some online users described as European features.
Sky News Arabia presenter, Mohannad Khatib, said: “Fedha looks Ukrainian and has a masculine voice. Nice try, try again.”
فضة شكلها من أوكرانيا وصوتها رجّالي. محاولة جيدة، جرّب مرة أخرى.
— Mohannad Khatib (@KhatibSKY) April 11, 2023
Sultan Sarwar said: “She does not have any features resembling a Kuwaiti woman. She is blonde – maybe from Eastern Europe.”
لااري فيها اي ملامح للسيده الکويتيه . هي شقرا ممکن من شرق اوروبا
— Sultan Sarwar (@SultanSarwarS) April 11, 2023
One Twitter user asked, “why blonde?” They then suggested, “she should have Arab features like us.”
ليش شقرا؟ المفروض تكون نفس ملامحنا العربية!
— . (@MuWuMuw) April 9, 2023
Another commentator said: “(Her name is) Fedha but she has blonde hair and blue eyes.”
فضه والشعر اشقر وعيون زرق مايرهم
— بنت الديره (@aldeerah) April 11, 2023
In a tweet, Mohammed Bin Essa said: “What is the point of having a blonde presenter with European features?”
ما هو المغزي من وجود مذيعة شقراء ذات وجه أوروبي ،،،
— Mohamedbinessa (@Mohamedbinesssa) April 8, 2023
One Twitter user pointed out that giving Fedha “Arab features” would have created familiarity. “You do not know how to properly reach your audience,” they said.
انزين چان حطيتوا لها تشابيه عربيه
علشان نتآلف معاها
ماتعرفون توصلون للمواطن بطريقه عدله— السوسن الكندري (@PrettySno) April 8, 2023
Other social media commentators thought Fedha, whose name is Arabic for silver, should at least have been wearing a Kuwaiti garment instead of a black blazer and white T-shirt.
“At least dress her in traditional Kuwaiti clothing – her name is Fedha, but she is Janet,” a Twitter user said.
عالاقل لبسوها لبس من التراث يعني اسمها فضة هذي جانيت الله يهديكم
— sheikhona (@7_sheikhona) April 10, 2023
Another said: “Since her name is traditional, it is best that she wears traditional (Kuwaiti) clothes.”
اذا الاسم تراثي فالافضل تكون على شكل لبس ومنظر تراثي
— الضاري (@HKJ305) April 9, 2023
Abdullah Boftain, deputy editor-in-chief of Kuwait News, an affiliate of the Kuwait Times, said that Fedha’s blonde hair and light-colored eyes reflected Kuwait’s diverse population, which included expatriates, the BBC reported.
He added that the presenter had been named Fedha because, “we always imagine robots to be silver and metallic in color, so we combined the two.”
There are 2.96 million expats from various backgrounds in Kuwait, making up 66 percent of the total population, according to figures published by the country’s Public Authority for Civil Information in mid-2022.
The report showed that many of Kuwait’s expats were Indian and Egyptian, accounting for 19 percent and 14 percent, respectively, of the total population by the end of June.
