April 15, 2003

OUR FRIENDS THE SAUDIS CONFRONT MODERNITY

         Following the defeat of Saddam Hussein, debate has come to the Arab world. The question in an Arab News Editorial: "During a meeting last night with some Saudi friends on the outskirts of Riyadh, one of the topics raised was the high dowries fathers demand, which are causing many women to remain unmarried. " While a few Saudis are wondering how to vault all the way from the 11th into the 18th century, many object. For example, a recent effort to assert that women have identities of their own was thwarted by a judge who, confronted with a picture ID, said "...he did not believe in such IDs and did not accept them. And because women who appear before judges in courts here are told to cover their faces, our friend was instructed to bring two male relatives to testify that the woman under the veil was indeed the person she said she was. "

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