Saudi women 'kept in childhood'

[emad]

Source: bbc

Saudi women are being kept in perpetual childhood so male relatives can exercise "guardianship" over them, the Human Rights Watch** group has said.

The New York-based group says Saudi women have to obtain permission from male relatives to work, travel, study, marry or even receive health care.

Their access to justice is also severely constrained, it says.

The group says the Saudi establishment sacrifices basic human rights to maintain male control over women.



Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7358448.stm

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** Perpetual Minors: Human Rights Abuses Stemming from Male Guardianship and Sex Segregation in Saudi Arabia

Polygamy's infantilization of women all too apparent not just in Islam but in other fundamentalist cults such as the Yearning For Zion FLDS in Eldorado, Texas.

[fasttense]

1. Polygamy seems to turn women into objects to be treated like slaves and children.

So much so that frequently in polygamous societies, men turn to girls and children for sex. Since their adult females are childlike anyway, the move to actual children for sexual pleasure is not such a great leap.

[roguevalley]

12. small penis men and their harems. nothing too bad can happen to

men like this in my book. may they all die of something long and painful.

[hobbit709]

2. One common practice in all nutjob fundie religions

is "keeping women in their place" so that the male-dominated rule keeps its power. Name a religion, any religion, and the fundamentalist wing of it thinks that way.

[newfie11]

3. For all those nut cases I hope God turns out to be a woman!

They are so screwed!

[hobbit709]

6. Ever watch "Dogma"?

[emad]

4. Infantilization of women just the first step in battle for control.

Another well documented ruse is the medicalization of women's dissent whereby protestors's families have them 'treated' in psych hospitals to 'cure' their apparent distress.

During the Death of a Princess row circa 1980 in London (a Saudi royal allegedly executed after an extramarital affair) the UK Embassy in Riyadh obtained over four thousand separate reports of wealthy families going the largactyl route on their wayward women rather than report them to the Religious Police which would inevitably result in custodial prison sentences for any real or imaginary misdemeanours.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. Saudis practice a fundamentalist form of Islam

that is intolerant and very restrictive. The treatment of women is only one facet of this religion that is hard to understand. It teaches that music is forbidden (only one sort of drum and male voices allowed), men should not wear silk or gold, and that Jews and Christians are bad people. Interestingly enough, this goes against what is said in the Qur'an and the Hadiths according to interpretations of these texts by other sects. When you argue with these people about it, and even prove your case by citing irrefutable Hadiths, etc, they refuse to acknowledge the truth of the matter, and rely mainly on ingrained prejudice that the Beloved Prophet tried to eradicate over 1300 years ago. Saudis do not allow other sects of Islam to freely practice in their nation so as to keep their strange form of worship "pure"--actually, I think it is to keep the people from finding the truth.

[DrDan]

9. yep - agree with this - lived there for 4 years

The religious police are feared. They patrol the malls and the streets just to make sure the dress codes are followed. My wife and I used to jog around the area near our compound. These guys would regularly stop us and yell at my wife even though she would have on sweat pants and a long sleeved shirt. After a year or two - we just started arguing back - "Why can't women run - they can walk, can't they". Then they get all huffy and drive off.

I still have Saudi friends - mostly bedouins. They are lifelong friends. But their culture can be so restrictive.

[lovuian]

13. Its called the Muslim Inquisition next they burn their witches

for calling demons

Its the same tactic used over and over again

[JerseygirlCT]

7. Yes. I cannot abide that regime.

And I cannot understand why we support them. They're evil.

[tomtomtom]

14. Agreed

why do so many (here in this country) support this religion?

[Ellen Forradalom]

15. He said "regime"

not "religion." Islam is not just extreme fundamentalism. And we have plenty of fundie whackos of all stripes right here at home.

[JerseygirlCT]

16. "She", but yes. I did intentionally say "regime". Wahabbism is

not at all representative of Islam - any more than those FLDS nuts are representative of Christianity. And again, with that regime, it's not about belief; it's all about power. And it's sickening, and sickening to watch our leaders cozying up to these monsters.

[pompano]

8. The way the title was written....

caught my eye. The "kept in childhood" part.

Those who have been following the Eldorado Poly. bunch has anyone beside me noticed the way these three most interviewed women talk. It is obvious they are not using a voice the grew up with. They seem to intentionally be talking like little children. It just sounds weird?

Don't get me wrong, it's their voice, their free right to talk the way they want, it is just so obvious that it is a put-on voice. A couple of talking heads were mentioning it the other night on TV and one ex-Poly. wife said " they do it to please their Prophet...the one in jail on a host of charges"

To me, sounds like this borderlines organized brainwashing. They need to keep those kids out of that environment.
But, thats my opinion?

[susankh4]

10. I have actually witnessed this sort of thing in Saudi women....

who are here in the U.S. and pregnant. I cared for some of them that were forbidden by their husbands to learn English or to attend any kind of childbirth class.

And the worst case I ever saw as a husband who did not want his wife to be told she was having a miscarriage. I kid you not.. he thought she would be better off if she never knew she was pregnant.

I mean, WTF?

[Beaverhausen]

11. K&R

[Marrah_G]

17. it boggles my mind that these countries are not shunned by the rest of the world

But the world is mainly run by men and hey....it's just a bunch of women, it can wait.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

18. They have separate hospitals over there...

Some friends were over there on some sort of trip, and they got into a really bad car accident. Apparently she was sent to the women's hospital for a broken collar bone. At the women's hospital they have no pain meds, and barely wanted to use anesthesia when they had to set the bone using surgery. It's a scary place for women.
Duckie