The Oct. 1 2012 issue of daily Metro fronted with two images from Swedish and Saudi Arabian IKEA catalogue for next year. (Henrik Montgomery / AP Photo / Scanpix Sweden / October 1, 2012) |
IKEA
removed images of women from the Saudi Arabia version of its catalog, a
decision that the furniture giant now says clashes with its values.
Swedish
publication Metro posted a comparison of the Saudi Arabian mailer and the
Swedish version, showing that women present in the latter were missing from the
former.
In the
Muslim country, women are not allowed to travel or study without male permission
and are expected to avoid driving and to conceal their bodies and hair.
The image
of a pajama-clad woman -- shown standing
at a bathroom sink along with a young boy, a man and another young child nearby
-- is erased in the catalog distributed in the Arab state. Some tableaux
feature a co-ed mix of models for the Swedish catalog but no models for the
Saudi Arabian copy.
More than
200 million households receive a free IKEA catalog each year, according to
Inter IKEA Systems B.V., which oversees the chain’s franchisees. A separate
branch, IKEA Group, makes the catalogs.
IKEA Group
said in a statement that its values “support the fundamental human rights of
all people” and “do not accept any kind of discrimination.” IKEA Saudi Arabia,
it said, is run by a franchisee outside the IKEA Group.
“As a
producer of the catalog, we regret the current situation,” IKEA Group said. “We
should have reacted to the exclusion of women from the Saudi Arabian version of
the catalog since it does not align with the IKEA Group values.”
The company
continued: “We are now reviewing our routines to safeguard a correct content
presentation from a values point of view in the different versions of the IKEA
Catalogue worldwide.”
In IKEA
Group’s annual report for 2011, the company notes that societal changes in the
20th century, including “equal opportunities and revolutionary approaches to
ensure the rights and protection of women and children,” has shaped both its
products and values.
“We’ve been
very fortunate to share experiences and learn from people of many countries,
cultures and backgrounds,” according to the report. "We continue to grow
and develop with co-workers, customers, suppliers and partners in 41 countries.
And everyone can see our Swedish roots -- but they can hear the accent of each
of these countries too.”
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