diff --git a/tests/testcellarea.c b/tests/testcellarea.c
index 029f507cb7..ec9398d6f2 100644
--- a/tests/testcellarea.c
+++ b/tests/testcellarea.c
@@ -614,6 +614,9 @@ main (int argc, char *argv[])
 {
   gtk_init (NULL, NULL);
 
+  if (g_getenv ("RTL"))
+    gtk_widget_set_default_direction (GTK_TEXT_DIR_RTL);
+
   simple_cell_area ();
   focus_cell_area ();
   background_area ();