"But after spending 10 days here, I can confirm that, at their own galactically glacial pace, they are chipping away at gender apartheid and cultural repression."
Why does Maureen's declaration after 10 days in Saudi Arabia sound so similar to Roger Cohen's recent attestations that "Iran is not totalitarian"?
Perhaps Maureen would not be so blithe if she were to review the case, reported by the Saudi Gazette (http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?contentID=2009020828735&method=home.regcon), of a young woman who was gang-raped and consequently awarded one year in prison plus 100 lashes:
"A 23-year-old unmarried woman was awarded one-year prison term and 100 lashes for committing adultery and trying to abort the resultant fetus.
The District Court in Jeddah pronounced the verdict on Saturday after the girl confessed that she had a forced sexual intercourse with a man who had offered her a ride. The man, the girl confessed, took her to a rest house, east of Jeddah, where he and four of friends assaulted her all night long.
The girl claimed that she became pregnant soon after and went to King Fahd Hospital for Armed Forces in an attempt to carry out an abortion. She was eight weeks’ pregnant then, the hospital confirmed."
Maureen Dowd, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Another recent example illustrating the plight of Saudi women:
"A Saudi women's group on Friday blamed the country's religious police in the 'honour' killing of two sisters shot dead by their own brother after they were arrested for mixing with unrelated men.
The Society for Defending Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia said the religious police had placed the sisters' lives in danger when they arrested them and then placed them in a Riyadh women's shelter.
The two women, identified as Reem, 21, and Nouf, 19, were murdered after they left the shelter on July 5.
The brother shot them in the presence of their father who, according to newspaper reports, quickly forgave the son for defending the family's honour."
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/561608-saudi-religious-police-blamed-in-honour-killing-of-sisters
"Loosey Goosey Saudi"? Disgusting!
same here in Iran. maybe not that rude, but theoretically same. in a fastfood restaurant, 99% of the times, nobody disturb me just because of that non-relative girl who sit in the front and passionately eating piece of the pizza and smile to me.. but this doesn't mean I have no worry when I walking (arm in arm? forget it) with she in the street.
ReplyDeleteas long as that damn oil placed under our feet remaining there, a phenomenon like Reform, stays such a non-important thing that any not-knwoing-middleeast people like Dowd can describe it "Moving Forward".