The reason behind this silence is partially rooted in a long history of gender inequality but, more tangibly, due to the way in which the media portrays women. A very clear cut example of this is in modern day advertisement, where the women lose their voices and agency to become nothing more than objects in the eyes of the viewer.  Jean Kilbourne examines this phenomena in depth in 'Killing Us Softly', an excerpt of which appears below.     

The objectification of women in the media appears across the board. Laura Mulvey argues in her essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema that women in general are objectified in the media for the pleasure of the male viewer. Using cinema as an example, she explains how women have a “traditional exhibitionist role” in which they are “looked at and displayed” and act as either as an “erotic object for the character within the screen story” or as an “erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium.” Although Mulvey focuses her analysis on contemporary Western film and uses the work of people such as Zielfeld, Busbsy Berkeley and Marilyn Monroe as examples, her argument about the portrayal of women holds true for media across the board  - including the way in which women from the Muslim world have historically been portrayed. 

Since the 19^th century, when various depictions of the Middle East began to emerge as a result of exploration and colonization, there has been a fascination with the region (p. 5). It seemed so far away and exotic  when compared to the Western world at the time -  the Middle East was “seen as the antithesis of Christian monogamy with its sexual taboos” (p. 9) A fantasy world soon materialized from the accounts and representations that travellers took home, a fantasy world many wished to believe in – one where “men reigned supreme, living in a sexual paradise in which four wives and unlimited concubines were permitted” (p.9) The way in which the region and way of life were imagined and described had a significant impact on the way women were portrayed. They were seen in two ways; either as invisible or as sexual objects. The travellers who created these impressions tended to live “in a world of men” (p.9) and “the world they described acknowledged women as little more than black shadows in the corner of the Bedouin tent.” (p.9) On the other hand, when acknowledged, it was purely of a sexual nature; these women were “frequently regarded as exotic sexual objects.” (p5). It is these kinds of images and stereotypes that Benchallal is trying to overcome in her effort to “bridge the gap”. Her efforts are not in vain; the same way in which the media is partially responsible for the original portrayal of women, the media can be responsible for the subsequent portrayal of women – thus, using the right images to tell the right story can reverse the trend.