Saudi Arabian Love

I don't want to talk about white, working-class men and the West Virginia Primary, so instead I'll point you to the exact opposite. Check out these articles from the Times this week about courtship, love, and marriage in Saudi Arabia. The differences with that of Western culture are astounding. One article focuses on men, another focuses on women.  

An excerpt from the article on women:

The separation between the sexes in Saudi Arabia is so extreme that it is difficult to overstate. Saudi women may not drive, and they must wear black abayas and head coverings in public at all times. They are spirited around the city in cars with tinted windows, attend girls-only schools and university departments, and eat in special “family” sections of cafes and restaurants, which are carefully partitioned from the sections used by single male diners.

Special women-only gyms, women-only boutiques and travel agencies, even a women-only shopping mall, have been established in Riyadh in recent years to serve women who did not previously have access to such places unless they were chaperoned by a male relative.

UPDATE: Remember this whenever politicians start to talk about how they want to promote democracy and freedom around the world. This is a farce. If it were true, there would be a big movement by the US to promote "freedom" in Saudi Arabia. As it turns out, there is no such movement because we believe we have amicable relations with the Saudi government and they have a lot of oil and power in the Middle East. The "promotion of freedom" argument our government uses is one of convenience and public relations. 

 

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