has, since its 1996 launch as an Arab-based international TV news network, been the subject of controversy. Much of the criticism has been the result of prejudice.

It was largely ignored until, in the aftermath of 9/11 in 2001, it broadcast a taped statement by . It later broadcast other videos by the terrorist leader, and the messenger was blamed for the messages.

So Al-Jazeera was soon dubbed “Bin Laden TV” in Britain and the , where it was regarded as anti-American. The association with meant that the network found it difficult to win audiences in either country despite its 2006 launching of Al-Jazeera English. It didn't surprise me, and I warned its British chief at the time that he had a mountain to climb to persuade non-Muslims to watch.

I needed no persuasion, however. I have often tuned into the channel at specific moments over the past four years, sometimes to catch a broadcast by one of my ex-students who, despite being Jewish, put her heart and soul into making documentaries for the station, and sometimes because of political and military incidents in the .

I spent hours watching its output during 's invasion of in January last year because it had correspondents there and offered an unparalleled insight into the problems of its residents. I had also previously sympathised with the channel's plight when a US missile hit its office in in 2003, killing one of its reporters.

I find it necessary to write all this because of what follows. I want to make it crystal clear that, far from sharing any prejudice about Al-Jazeera, I have been an enthusiastic viewer and a defender of its work. It has added greatly to our understanding of the Muslim world, not least because it has appeared to combine western news techniques and, to an extent, its values, with an Arab outlook and news agenda.

So I was astonished a couple of weeks ago to see that five of the female presenters at Al-Jazeera's headquarters had resigned after complaining about harassment from a senior editor and a demand that they modify their dress.

The five — Jumana Nammour, Lina Zaher al Deen, Jullinar Mousa, Luna al-Shibl and Nawfar Afli, the first three from , the other two from and respectively — decided to quit after a lengthy conflict with the network's deputy editor-in-chief Ayman Jaballah about whether their clothing and personal grooming were “decent”.

They were accused of wearing clothes that were “incongruous with Al-Jazeera's expected strictness” and then given instructions on what would be congruous. Jaballah told them it would be “preferable to wear pants that are not too tight”. If they must wear skirts, they should be “at least two inches below the knees.” High heels were forbidden. “Sparkling or screaming colours” were prohibited. And it was “inappropriate” for hair to “come down on the shoulders”. As for tops, these “should not reveal more than two inches of the chest from the bottom of the neck where the two wishbones meet.”

According to the station, this dress code is based on those at the and . I think not.

Eleven of the network's 15 presenters protested in December about the rules, and 10 later made a formal complaint the network's director-general. The women heard nothing for seven months until they resigned.

Then a committee created by their bosses to look into their complaints suddenly produced the results of its “investigation”. This exonerated Jaballah of harassment and restated the need for women presenters to apply the dress code that he had laid down. It also argued, laughably, that the same restrictions on appearance applied to male presenters. Doubtless, this was an attempt to suggest that Al-Jazeera is not guilty of discrimination because it treats men and women just the same.

In fact, it points to the central problem of the affair: the network's desire to be both a western-friendly news outlet and its need not to offend the deeply conservative and anti-feminist societies it serves in Muslim countries.

The same could be said of the station's owner, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa. He wants his oil-and-gas-rich state to be seen as a path-breaking liberal Arab country. To that end, a year ago Qatar ratified the United Nations Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (known as CEDAW). This specifically commits signatories to allow women to enjoy the fruits of equality. It says that states must ensure the “elimination of all acts of discrimination against women by persons, organisations or enterprises.”

How this squares with Al-Jazeera's treatment of its female presenters is anyone's guess. My attempts to reach anyone in its Qatar headquarters to speak about this matter proved fruitless, and a receptionist at Al-Jazeera's bureau told me: “People have had problems in the past getting through to them.” What I do know, from having seen video clips of some of the women and pictures of them while presenting, is that their dress is modest by western standards.

I also understand that this dispute did not suddenly flare up. It goes back at least until June last year when the first complaint was made. It would appear that, for the moment, the resignations of the five women have been accepted, and they are, to use a British euphemism for people in such situations, “on gardening leave” for the two months remaining of their contracts.

I am genuinely saddened that what seemed to be a go-ahead news organisation, purporting to be the BBC of the Middle East, has become hostage to conventions that condemn women to abide by rules that, however they are dressed up (pun intended), are discriminatory.

If one or two woman had resigned, they might have been regarded as mavericks. The fact that five did so – and that 10 were prepared to put their names to a formal complaint – indicates not only the depth of feeling but the conviction that they were being coerced unfairly into conforming to a dress code they do not condone.

If Al-Jazeera is to retain any credibility outside of its Arab hinterland it needs to think again about its decision.

is Professor of Journalism,

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