What if we switched roles: a social experiment

For International Women’s Day, UN Women conducted a social experiment that engaged 20 young men and women from 7 Arab countries and asked them to answer from the perspective of the other gender as they see it. Questions covered issues like violence against women and girls, women’s economic and political participation as well as general social attitudes.
Follow the campaign at our Facebook and Twitter.

[@trillxfizzy]

"If i do something wrong or to provoke him then he deserves to put his hands on me" if someone does something wrong you break up with them, dont abuse them.

[@aknadiri2520]

Good luck dying alone since you will probably will never have a husband, friends or kids as all humans make mistakes.

[@juwitaondowuzz709]

Knowing this culture too much. I teared watching this.

[@maddiemaccheese8170]

Everyone, spread this around. Make this go viral. Everyone needs to see this.

[@hellocloverkitty]

I'd rather protect my boyfriend, than my boyfriend protect me. He is so precious to me.

[@whyarepeoplesubscribedtome]

Kailey Ross aww

[@lifesucks3893]

Kailey Ross i would do the same

[@booboobunny5655]

Or it could go both ways.

[@AddBowIfGirl]

Kailey Ross You’re an idiot, hun.

[@thenextbigthing1393]

@@AddBowIfGirl LoL

[@mounikrajk1865]

Thank You. You people are helping me to build my attitude. Want to see more of this kind.

[@shivangifriedi]

what a video. keep doing such experiments

[@amadeana]

Beautiful.

[@bulmaroherrera8111]

Where is the switch? I only see omission.

[@TMS-Oddbot]

Nani?

[@kaiyaryberg3219]

wonderful video, thank you.

[@clown9480]

this is absolutely amazing. i really *really* love this, thank you.

[@ONTHEROADwithme]

I also wish i was born a man. There is so much liberation in almost every community in this world when one is a man as compared to being a woman. Nice narration UN. Very informative. The patriarchal system seems unconducive for the people who made it when they switch roles.

[@cmpunk_jonas]

This NEEDS to be seen

[@elebecepe]

“-I don’t like sloppy seconds” ..I gulped 🤭

[@Hdidbi_3049]

Reasons I’ll never marry anyone my family chooses.

[@nigward229]

Ya the woman ill marry from my parent selection will kill my hobbies and then cry outside about how i killed her hobbies

[@BeanOnTheFlipside]

good for you!

[@BeanOnTheFlipside]

@@nigward229 You should say it outright say no and quiet down they will get the message

[@gabriellaallaf843]

why is it mostly muslim? i can guarentee you that the answers would have been more varied if you had conducted the interviews with a more diverse group of "arabs"...

[@horsethief925]

[@LB-uo7xy]

Sooo we're choosing to switch places for men/women of the literally craziest culture/religion in the world currently?

[@saintmichaelsarchangel2644]

Ok so if we are swapping roles here, we have to go back in time and have a bunch of feminists storm Normandy, and we have to go back farther so feminists can experience the Somme, Yepes, and the Muse Argonne

[@James-cn8lo]

Storm Normandy? If that were the case, that would have failed and the allies would have lost the war badly

[@AnikaBiju]

Right, because all men experienced that. What a convincing argument.

[@kevinduliesco5468]

"it is known that we should not burden women more than they can handle" Guys with tons of burdens and problems: *Y E S*

[@lifesucks3893]

1:21 he's cute

[@alexdahoe625]

life sucks gurrrll i knoww the struggle is real

[@ghastlypompano2]

Nobody felt anybody else's struggle. Maybe they thought about what they said, but they won't internalize it.

[@orang9407]

Idk where they got It’s ok for me to got my wife. I’m Arabic you can tell by my name

[@paddy1144]

Aren't you the same people who keep telling us these countries/religions are liberating for women?

[@julieperkins9124]

😭

[@sergiugabriel3996]

This is so fucking wrong. Don't talk about a few arabic countries like it's the whole fucking world.

[@Justagirlwithasmile]

No one did. Don't you think that the UN *should* encourage gender equality in those countries who clearly lack it? Because that's all they were doing here.

[@dontknow9140]

Even if the examples were from just a few arabic countries, or just one, I believe this is less about pointing out those particular countries, rather that the mindset is still there. It may not be the person sitting next to you, it may not be your father, or brother, or son, but the mindset that woman are objects meant to be ruled over and used as tool to reproduce is still there. The fear from women is still there as well. No, this isn't all arabic countries, and even if it was, I don't believe it would be everyone in that country.

[@kmpainandmovementspecialis9742]

This is incredibly disturbing

[@ammaristanbilly3922]

okay i am an arab 13 year old and these questions are biased, they did not put questions like what would happen if your husband was injured in war, in most arab countries including mine, soldier training is forced on men and there are many wars so men are frequently getting injured, other then the fact that rape (in fact crime) is very little in arab countries, i think women are not considered as good as men because they victimize themselves, men portray themselves as honorable great people while women try and TRY to make it seem like things are unfair to them, if women put themselves down less i think they would have more respect, thats why men want to be manly, because it is a matter of being stiff, courageous and not being whiney, it is only called manliness because only men have it, so women dont victimize yourselves and a believe you would be given more worth, but if you label yourself as trash that is how you are going to be treated

[@outis439-A]

wow... You guys have problems

[@smilingbasil1421]

Ok you backwards incel.

[@yakzivz1104]

Nobody is forcing men to fight senseless wars; rather, that is your faulty patriarchy system that's forcing innocent men to fight in wars. You cannot blame that on women.

[@Anastasia-vn2fs]

Bruhhhhhhhhh

[@yakzivz1104]

@what nbba Honestly I'm not really sure about that- I think that that was only done during WWII and WWI. I could be wrong though.

[@boga_paro911]

Im sure she forgot the things SHE got granted for till date….

[@Twyst3d]

Keep that stuff in india and places where women are oppressed. Like not us. I do feel sorry for women who are oppressed Though.

[@MrPrabhattiwari]

Oh , women are opressed in india only . Women are more opreseed in muslim country .