DarrylS

Interesting read from a reporter from the LA Times, Megan Stack was the bureau chief in Saudi Arabia.. she wore the "abaya".. good read about one of our ally nations..


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...44,print.story

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — THE hem of my heavy Islamic cloak trailed over floors that glistened like ice. I walked faster, my eyes fixed on a familiar, green icon. I hadn't seen a Starbucks in months, but there it was, tucked into a corner of a fancy shopping mall in the Saudi capital. After all those bitter little cups of sludgy Arabic coffee, here at last was an improbable snippet of home — caffeinated, comforting, American.

I wandered into the shop, filling my lungs with the rich wafts of coffee. The man behind the counter gave me a bemused look; his eyes flickered. I asked for a latte. He shrugged, the milk steamer whined, and he handed over the brimming paper cup. I turned my back on his uneasy face.

Crossing the cafe, I felt the hard stares of Saudi men. A few of them stopped talking as I walked by and watched me pass. Them, too, I ignored. Finally, coffee in hand, I sank into the sumptuous lap of an overstuffed armchair.

"Excuse me," hissed the voice in my ear. "You can't sit here." The man from the counter had appeared at my elbow. He was glaring.

"Excuse me?" I blinked a few times.

"Emmm," he drew his discomfort into a long syllable, his brows knitted. "You cannot stay here."

"What? Uh … why?"

Then he said it: "Men only."

He didn't tell me what I would learn later: Starbucks had another, unmarked door around back that led to a smaller espresso bar, and a handful of tables smothered by curtains. That was the "family" section. As a woman, that's where I belonged. I had no right to mix with male customers or sit in plain view of passing shoppers. Like the segregated South of a bygone United States, today's Saudi Arabia shunts half the population into separate, inferior and usually invisible spaces.

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"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.

Harry Boy

Good post, I'm surprised our "Diversity Human Rights Liberals" here in America aren't more interested in this, it goes on all over the Muslim World, they treat their Donkey's better than they do their women.

The Feminist Movement (NOW) here in America also are very silent on it, but of course they showed no interest in the abuse of the Clinton Victims either.

I wonder what the Liberal Slobberers would have to say if "Methodists, Mormons and Presbytarians" made their women Ride In The Back Seat?

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Harry Boy (Genius)

In The Absence Of Law And Order Society Will Surely Destroy Itself

Brownfan80

I can't pretend to understand their culture, so I won't judge it.

From what I understand they separate women out of respect (in their minds). Much of their culture is based on how they treat women with respect. It's a different point of view, but we can't expect everyone to think like we do.

Harry Boy

Gotta hand it to you, thats a good one.

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Harry Boy (Genius)

In The Absence Of Law And Order Society Will Surely Destroy Itself

PatsWSB47

Good one, I thought you were serious for a moment.

Real World

This illustrates the differences between cultures. The questions such differences raise is what matters now more than ever. Should we pressure nations like these to provide equal rights to all, or do we (Please be quiet - edited) and mind our own business? If we choose the latter, do we continue to do business with them in knowing that our money will be used to support such inequality? What role to we play, if we play one at all?

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897

Brownfan80

Actually I was completely serious. Maybe I'm not sure how statements are read in the political forum yet, but I wasn't trying to be humorous at all.

Real World

Well, it seems respect carries a different mean than it does here.

This is old, but telling.

27/09/2000 00:01 GMT

Saudi Arabia: Time is long overdue to address women's rights



http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index...pen&of=ENG-SAU

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897

Harry Boy

Imagine how hot those black sheets and hoods are in the summer.

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Harry Boy (Genius)

In The Absence Of Law And Order Society Will Surely Destroy Itself

DarrylS

Cannot even begin to comprehend this, imagine wearing this and then not have hot water to take a shower.. yuk!!! Let's make love you handsome bearded man...

__________________
"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.