Reason #5,346 I’m glad I don’t live in Saudi Arabia
May 10, 2009 News
A judge in Saudi Arabia has said that it’s OK for a man to slap his wife if she spends too much money. This was said during a seminar on domestic violence, not in a court ruling. After giving an example of a Saudi woman blowing too much money on an abaya (that all-black full-length woman hider that leaves only a slit for the eyes and is turning up all too much in Brooklyn lately), Judge Hamad Al-Razine continued: “And if her husband slaps her on the face as a reaction to her action, she deserves that punishment.”
According to the CNN article I just read, his explanation for domestic violence in Saudi Arabia got worse from there, as he blamed women’s behavior and words for their treatment.
I’ve found varying reports on whether Saudi Arabia is celebrating Mother’s Day today. Some websites list today as their Mother’s Day, some list it as March 21st, some say it is not celebrated there. Regardless, I think the best gift some of the women of the world – not just Saudi Arabia – could hope for today is to not have their abuse supported by the people who make and enforce the laws.
Happy Mother’s Day.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom
Tags: abuse, domestic violence, Hamad Al-Razine, Saudi Arabia
Nothing has changed for a long, log time. Under Islamic law, women have few rights and are the property of their husbands and fathers. This isn’t going to change just because Americans find it offensive. In fact, that Americans find it offensive is proof to them that they are right. Like it or not, we do not have the right to force our sensibilities on other cultures. A time may come when Islam moderates; after all, it happened in Christianity. (We are burning witches anymore, are we?) Until then, all we can and should do is label them as violators of human rights and limit our association with them.
@Reality – I can only agree with the first part of your comment. When Christianity was going through it’s very murderous growing pains, the world was a lot bigger and information was a lot easier to control. I think that the best thing we can do is shed as much light as we can on the problem. And I think that labeling abuse as a cultural sensibility is part of the problem.
Well, yes, it’s good in theory that you don’t live in Saudi Arabia, but your money sure does! Saudi Arabia is the second largest supplier of oil to the United States, behind Canada. So, those same people that were identified are using your money to support their “habit.” That’s why we need to end our dependency on foreign oil, but particularly from people who treat their own this way.
@SmithonPolitics-com – Agree 100%.
One thing that has always bothered me is why there seems to be such a massive disconnect in the brains of truck-loving Republicans who claim that they hate everyone and everything about the Middle East. Why hasn’t the environmental movement caught on with them? In theory, wouldn’t it fit the feelings of that particular group if less of their money was going to OPEC member countries?
The only conclusion I’ve come to is that they hate what the environmental movement seems to represent to them (gay-lovin’ hippie commie bastard liberal perverts) more than they hate the Middle East.
@Amy – Absolutely! You are spot on.
Their isn’t usually clarity in their ridiculous ideological pursuits. That why I find it HILAROUS to no end when I hear people say, “I’m a CONSERVATIVE! I believe in LIFE! No gay marriage! I only want a central government to DEFEND US!” I mean, the arguments are so easily refuted its not even funny. Then when you do refute them, you suddenly become some elite ivy-league educated northeastern, latte drinking, Saturn driving left wing radical who pals around with likeminded limousine liberals.” Their standard operating procedure has never worked for them! Even when they talk about economic issues, they vaguely cite to Reagan and ramble on about how they cut taxes, got the economy going, bla bla bla. Of course there is legitimacy to moderate fiscal conservatism, but these people tend to be….out there!
Muslims want to rule our World and we keep buying OIL from them.Why do we do this?Corrupt Politicians for One! Second, we drive Gas guzzling Cars!Three, Our Oil companies keep screwing us for wanting more & more and the list goes on.
Sens ALL Muslims back to thier Desert and rot in Hell.
How stupid can you get when Muslim Laws allow a 45year Old man to marry an 8 years child?Women have NO rights in any Muslim countries.Muslims have sex with their own cousins and marry within family.
@sunil – Wow, thanks for taking an intelligent discussion and turning it into a hate-filled rant. You’re part of the problem and your views could not be any further away from mine. I suspect you may have wandered off of Savage Nation or stumbled away from a Klan rally. Find your way back because that kind of talk is not welcome here.
@Amy – Hehe, you’ll always get the xenophobes. Ridiculous. I’m not against Muslims; I know many as family. I don’t buy into the whole differences thing like the guy above. I was going to say to the guy about marrying cousins and sleeping with minors, so do polygamists right here in the United States. Plus, a couple of his own Presidents married a cousin- Jefferson, Roosevelt, and if he likes his rock and roll, Jerry Lee Lewis did too! So t’aint a “Muslim” thing!
human rights, women rights, children’s rights….they matter no matter the country or religion….just because they have been doing it for a million years does not make it right….just means they have been doing wrong for a very long time…..we should always fight for the rights of those that can not fight for themselves.
amy…the difference is those things are illegal and not socially acceptable in civilized countries
and because we have some monsters here it is ok for them to be monsters ? Since when did two wrongs make a right?
@jade – Hi Jade, I want to respond to your comment, but I don’t really understand it (the last part I mean, where you’re addressing me). What two wrongs making a right are you talking about? I’m lost.
@Amy – I think she’s referring also to my post where I said that the phenomenon happens here, too. But, I wasn’t defending that crazy behavior, I was showing how illogical the previous poster’s division is.
@SmithonPolitics-com – Ah, gotcha. I think that’s what it was. Thanks for filling me in on what’s happening on my own blog! I think I need some sleep.
@jade – Yeah, I think you completely missed Smith’s point (if that was what you were referring too). He wasn’t saying that it was OK for them because we do it too. He was simply responding to the xenophobic anti-muslim nutburger who had just posted. Two wrongs still make two wrongs, but sunil was throwing every muslim under the bus. There’s enough evil behavior to go around.
I say, slap the judge, since he seems to like abuse.
@Marie – Sounds about right to me. I’m sure there would be a line of volunteers willing to do it.
sorry amy i was responding to smithonpolitics who was replying to you and i saw your name and sorry to smithonpolitics for misunderstanding his post…lol
and it is more an arabic thing then a muslim thing but women do not have all the same rights as men in any muslim country
@jade – Totally agreed. I have this argument with my husband all the time – I argue that there’s something in the make-up of people in that part of the world that makes them more susceptible to participating in and standing for institutionalized, widespread abuse of women. He disagrees but for ONCE he usually can’t put it in to words (he’s generally much better at arguing his point than I am).
Incidentally, reading Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s book really shed some light on the issue for me.