Maureen Dowd, "A Tale of Three Women": Tens of Millions of Egyptian Women Have Had Their Clitorises Removed

In her latest New York Times op-ed entitled "A Tale of Three Women" (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/opinion/dowd-a-tale-of-three-women.html), Maureen Dowd provides vignettes from the lives of three, recently deceased, famous women - Annette Funicello, Lilly Pulitzer and Margaret Thatcher - who shaped the lives of many, particularly in the West:

"One got famous wearing mouse ears. One got famous wearing brightly colored shifts. And one got famous wearing down the opposition while carrying a handbag.

The trio of famous deaths this week seems incongruous. Yet these spirited women — two quintessential Americans known by their first names and one quintessential Brit known by her nickname — were all vivid emblems of their time."

"Vivid emblems of their time"? Okay. But how does one compare the lasting influence of Margaret Thatcher, a grocer's daughter who became one of the most influential modern British prime ministers, with the cinematic impact of "Beach Blanket Bingo"? Or find anything at all in common between the mother of modern conservatism and the Queen of Palm Beach Prep?

Who are the women of today providing "vivid emblems of their time"?

If you ask me, I would look beyond the West and refer you to the women of Egypt, 90% of whom have had their clitorises removed, i.e. undergone female genital mutilation. And yet, as the Obama administration continues to provide Egypt with $1.5 billion in annual aid, the ruling Muslim Brotherhood persists in its brutal oppression of women (see: http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.co.il/2013/03/you-just-wont-believe-what-obama-is.html).

These are sad times indeed.