Comments on: Saudi female Olympians: Historic breakthrough or false dawn?

By: elizabeth

elizabeth — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 02:03:40 +0000

Anyone who wants to argue that women have equal rights in the US can then try to explain to me, in any rational way, the reason that women earn $0.77 for every $1.00 a man makes in the SAME job with the SAME qualifications. I am not convinced that a 23% reduction in pay speaks well to gender equity in the United States. It is a symptoms of long-lasting gender discrimination that is deep and far-reaching in its effects.

By: Never moody

Never moody — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 21:03:05 +0000

It has nothing to do with being Muslim , catholic ,Jewish african , american white and so on its Men!

By: Never moody

Never moody — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 21:00:07 +0000

I honestly feel that most of theses people on this message board r so utterly stupid and ignorant...theses crimes against women happen everywhere...do your research before you talk out your ass! Men everywhere will always feel superior to women...so they will continue to sell , rape , enslave, abuse shall I go on! But I look at things this way what comes around goes.

By: Joey Navis

Joey Navis — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 21:42:15 +0000

all of this nonsense about women and rights, look where it has gotten us,, we have michelle bachman (sp?) in one of our highest offices. i mean really, people, women driving.?? shopping without permission of their male dominator, next thing u know they will want to work,,,, and eventually they will want to be paid. they will demand actual human rights, and we all know that father allah, or father god for u western fundamentalists, only ordained such rights for the male of the species. tut, tut, tut. if we give in here, women might eventually influence decisions. could u imagine women running the world, we would probably lose our biggest source of income as well as population control,, war might become a thing of the past. we cant have that!!

By: truthfulguidance

truthfulguidance — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 17:13:27 +0000

Wow. My Family has lived in Saudi for 30+ years. My Mom would wear Niqab and wasn't aloud to drive either but, she loved the country. She said most of the women she has met are okay with the way the government works. Of course it sucks not to be able to drive, but it isn't like, "Holy crap, I can't drive! Its the end of the world." Though this driving law issue has nothing to do with Islam, that is what the western media potrays. Saudi is a really nice country and they do have some flaws and not everyone agrees with them, but what country doesn't?

By: Jessica Smith

Jessica Smith — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 23:50:04 +0000

You are a harlot for calling her that.

By: The Truth

The Truth — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 11:40:52 +0000

In regards to the Olympics.... just read the names of the ppl who actually participate... male and/or female.

They are either the Elites of the Saudi society; or immigrants.

When it comes to rights.... everybody in Saudi lacks them. Some more than others. It is all about who you know and how much money you have.

By: The Truth

The Truth — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 11:37:31 +0000

@Idk..

Genital Mutilation is not a Saudi thing... its an African custom.

By: thatcrazypremed

thatcrazypremed — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 21:55:24 +0000

If you actually look a the qur'an, there are very few laws that are set in stone. Most of it is grey area. In other words, most of it is ambiguous and UP FOR DEBATE. The reason this was made was so that people could adapt Islam to changing times. A system that worked hundreds of years ago might not be the best one for now, and these grey areas were supposed to make Islam flexible.

All this b***** about sharia law comes from men in power wanting to control women to keep themselves in power and have the support of other highly patriarchal men. Sharia law IS NOT SET IN STONE. Look at history. Look up what ijtihad is. There used to be discussions about it. Women used to be jurors and judges. There was a famous woman who stopped an uprising just by using her word.

Like in other countries, Saudi Arabia uses women's rights as a political tool. It has very little to do with Islam. It has to do with them using Islam as a political tool to keep their stupid royal family in power (royal family which goes to Bahrain and the UAE to drink and do behavior prohibited in their country).

To the other commenters above...you guys REALLY need to go read a book. Genital mutilation? That occurs primarily in Africa and is based in culture, not religion. In fact, Islam prohibits cutting of the body (just like it prohibits tattoos) because the body is sacred. Saying women are better off as slaves? Lol, I'd love to see you as a slave and see if you think it's "better off". No one should be slaves. Rulers shouldn't use religion to abuse people who have historically been oppressed.

Women rights abuse is everywhere. No matter what country you go to, you will find women who have their rights taken from them. In the US, women are objectified and made into sex objects, deal with harassment (like many other places), have their reproductive rights become issues of national debate, and get lower wages than their male counterparts.
In Saudi Arabia, women are made to be excessively dependent on their husbands and thus their individuality is, to a certain extent, limited.

Whoever thinks that this issue is just about Islam is obviously too simple to understand how complex women rights is in these dictator countries. They are a form of control, a rallying point, something that can be used to show how they are "different" from Western countries, and a way to keep the country fixed in the old past rather than embracing new things (and thus risking getting thrown out of power).

By: LIVED IN THE US AND MID EAST

LIVED IN THE US AND MID EAST — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:56:13 +0000

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
DROD I really respect you your an educated man!