So it’s
hard to defend the Saudi Arabian treatment of women, but guess what? Here’s a
Saudi woman with a defense:
In Saudi
culture, women have their integrity and a special life that is separate from
men. As a Saudi woman, I demand to have a guardian. My work requires me to go
to different regions of Saudi Arabia, and during my business trips I always
bring my husband or my brother. They ask nothing in return—they only want to be
with me.
The image
in the West is that we are dominated by men, but they always forget the aspect
of love. People who aren’t familiar with Shariah often have the wrong idea. If
you want stability and safety in your life, if you want a husband who takes
care of you, you won’t find it except in Islam.
Wow—what a
great deal! And what princes these guys are, who only want to be there for
their women! The wonder is that—given that they must be exhausted, from all the
care that they lavish on their women—they have the energy and desire to have
two, three, or four wives. How do they do it?
And what,
by the way, is wrong with our Western women, who can fail to see the obvious
benefits of this good Sharia
system? Consider—every woman has a guardian, who drives her, gives her
“permission” to work, study, go places and even visit the doctor. Are our
womenfolk so blind? Why aren’t they jumping at the chance?
And the
best thing? Women get all this protection as early as nine, which most courts
say is the youngest age for a girl to get married. Oh, and don’t think about
marrying outside the tribe, because guess what? That’ll get you disinherited.
Even
better, if you get a divorce? You won’t get stuck with the kids—who are the
property of the father. Oh, and you’ll have to ask your son if you want to
remarry. Oh wait—that may not even happen, since the groom will automatically
be dealing with your guardian, not you.
Naturally,
it takes some work to maintain this system; here’s
Wikipedia on the subject:
In 2009,
the Saudi Gazette
reported that a 23-year-old unmarried woman was sentenced to one year in prison
and 100 lashes for adultery. She had been gang-raped, become pregnant, and
tried unsuccessfully to abort the fetus. The flogging was postponed until after
the delivery.
Wow—postponing
the flogging until after the delivery? Is there no kindness these guardians
won’t shower on their women? Amazing!
Still
people carp. For example, according to Wikipedia, “the World Economic
Forum 2009 Global Gender Gap
Report ranked Saudi Arabia 130th out of 134 countries for gender
parity.” And even in Saudi Arabia, there are critics: here’s Wajeha Al-Huwaider:
The
ownership of a woman is passed from one man to another. Ownership of the woman
is passed from the father or the brother to another man, the husband. The woman
is merely a piece of merchandise, which is passed over to someone else—her
guardian ... Ultimately, I think women are greatly feared. When I compare
the Saudi man with other Arab men, I can say that the Saudi is the only man who
could not compete with the woman. He could not compete, so what did he do with
her? ... The woman has capabilities. When women study, they compete with
the men for jobs. All jobs are open to men. 90% of them are open to men. You do
not feel any competition ... If you do not face competition from the Saudi
woman ... you have the entire scene for yourself. All positions and jobs
are reserved for you. Therefore, you are a spoiled and self-indulged man.
I’ve a
friend, Harry, who once worked for an organization for Latinos. In his time
there, the organization was asked to come out in support of a Mexican guy who
had started a brawl in a bar. “Fighting in public,” said the lawyer defending
the man, “played an integral part in the cultural life of the Mexican male,” or
some such thing. Everybody thought about that for a bit…
…until
Harry began to sing, “oh give me a home, where the bottles are thrown…”
Which is
the way I’m starting to feel about Islam, at least Saudi Arabian-style. Come
on, guys, I do my best to be respectful but…
..couldn’t
you guys make it a little easier?
