Sex In The Public Square - Saudi Arabia - Comments

Saudi rape victim pardoned?

Elizabeth — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:47:36 -0800

The AP is reporting that King Abdullah has pardoned this poor woman even though, in his words, it was clear that the sentence was fair.

One wonders how he can possibly believe that. Is this a combination of face-saving for the court and attempt at getting justice for the woman?

In any case, I'm pretty sure she'd have been jailed and lashed were it not for the international outcry and sustained attention brought to the case, which supported the efforts of those who were protesting the sentence inside Saudi Arabia to continue their own lobbying for a reversal.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071217/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saudi_justice

not just about 'dem foreigners...

sdmonty — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 20:04:03 -0800

Thanks for posting this - I think I originally caught wind of it via NYT online, and it's an important news story to take note of...

As shocking and appalling as this is, let's just remember that far from being an isolated incident, or something that is a cultural issue (even though, yes, there are definitely religious, regional, cultural, and ancient moral systems at play here), that there is a connection to attitudes in our own culture that reinforce the belief that women are responsible for what men do when we get aroused (or even act violent).

I get afraid that many men would read about this case and say "that's appalling" (and they'd be right) without necessarily drawing the connection between the religiously-rooted, archiac condemnation of Saudi women and their own support of American attitudes that reinforce the concept that women "deserve" to have certain things done to them or "asked for it" by virtue of having worn something/said something/drank something/or walked somewhere, etc.

A good article to post, and definitely fodder for a larger conversation about consent, victim-blaming, and cross-cultural attitudes about sex, gender, and sexuality.

Thank You Elizabeth

JanieBelle — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 07:27:18 -0800

I read about this over at Skepchick and wanted to post about it, but I'm so insanely pissed off that I just can't discuss the subject without blowing a blood vessel.