No females allowed! IKEA under fire for deleting pictures of women from its Saudi catalogue

Ikea has apologised for airbrushing women out of the Saudi version of its furniture magazine - which was previously identical across the world.
The Swedish manufacturer said today that it regrets the decision to delete all woman and most girls from the Saudi printed edition and website, after questions were raised over the company's commitments to gender equality. 
A comparison of the Saudi version alongside its other catalogue shows exactly the same photographs of interiors and products - but with all women erased.

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Now you see her...the American catalogue, left, depicts a wholesome scene of a family sharing a bathroom, but bosses decided to airbrush all the women out of their pictures for the Saudi edition, right, a decision it says it now regrets

A barefoot woman wearing earrings in the lower right corner, is enjoying a cup of tea at a dining table in the Swedish version of the magazine but in the Saudi edition the woman is morphed into a man with the earrings removed and black socks a fitted t-shirt added. A couple lounging on a couch are removed entirely

Even a female designer from the company was airbrushed out of a cover picture on the Saudi edition, while her three male colleagues remained in the picture.

Sweden's Minister of Trade Ewa Björling argued that the retouched images are a ‘sad example that shows that there is a long way to go in terms of equality between men and women in Saudi Arabia.’

‘Women cannot be retouched away in reality.

'If Saudi Arabia does not allow women to appear [in public] or work, they lose about half their intellectual capital,’ she told Swedish newspaper Metro.'

Two women and a man laugh and smile as all three casually prepare food in a kitchen

But bosses decided to delete all traces of the women and men cooking - preferring a plain image of the kitchen products

A woman holds on to one of the lights advertised in the catalogue across the world - except in Saudi Arabia where no trace of her exists

In one picture a family can be seen sharing a bathroom together, with a mother and son brushing their teeth at the sink in pajamas, while the father wraps another young boy in a towel.

But in the Saudi version no traces of the woman exist - instead only the man and his two children remain.

In another picture, a barefoot woman with earrings is digitally edited to become a man wearing black socks to remove all traces of any females.

A group of friends sharing the cooking chores and preparing food in a kitchen are all erased by bosses who prefer to opt for a plain picture of the products in the Saudi version of the catalogue and website.

In a number of pictures women are seen posing with products in the catalogue across the world - except in Saudi Arabia where they are always deleted.

Ikea said in a statement: 'We should have reacted and realized that excluding women from the Saudi Arabian version of the catalogue is in conflict with the IKEA Group values.'

The four designers are proudly pictured in the Ikea catalogue and websites with their latest creations

But on the Saudi website and in the printed edition, the female designer is deleted while her three male colleagues remain

Two young women smile at each other in the versions seen across the world, left, but vanish in the Saudi version, right