Wanted: a global Arab icon who is not dressed to kill

You know you've got it bad as a cultural group when the most recognisable global 'poster boy' happens to be Osama bin Laden and just about every icon the media is interested in are ones who are literally dressed to kill and drop-dead ugly!

Where have the days gone when Omar Sharif used to strut his stuff on the silver screen, charming women with his sensitive eyes and dulcet tones? I'll refrain from deconstructing the orientalist romanticism of the Lawrence of Arabia story which catapulted him to superstardom and instead recall wistfully that the Arab world desperately needs a new international sex symbol. Instead, we have bin Laden, who was once apparently voted the world's eighth least-sexy man.

George Clooney was recently voted the man who most understands women by a group panel of female authors, politicians, and media and business powers. As you might expect, not a single Arab made the rank, although – perhaps surprisingly – one Muslim did just scrape into the top 10: Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, who started the Grameen Bank to help Bangladesh's poor, particularly women.

I'm pleased for Clooney. For a Hollywood star, he is conscientious, sensitive and politically aware. Clooney has a well-deserved reputation as a 'lady killer' and all-round nice guy – Arabs have a reputation simply as being killers and women oppressors.

The idea that there are actually women-friendly Arab men is considered to be an oxymoron by many non-Arabs. Arab men marry a harem, keep them locked indoors and chained down by veils. Men like me who defend women's rights and believe in full gender equality and do their share of the cooking, cleaning and other household chores are neither seen nor hard.

I look forward to the day that the media sees fit to find us more positive Arab and Muslim male icons.