I’ve seen how women are treated in Saudi Arabia from a social perspective.  They are thought of as far less than men; it is as if their main reason for being is to birth male children.  The men are brought up with this attitude and it is no surprise that the end result is increasing domestic violence in the country.  Thank God for the USA and thank God that all of our values haven’t went down the toilet.  Look at these two quotes:

Judge Hamad Al-Razine said that “if a person gives SR 1,200 [$320] to his wife and she spends 900 riyals [$240] to purchase an abaya [the black cover that women in Saudi Arabia must wear] from a brand shop and if her husband slaps her on the face as a reaction to her action, she deserves that punishment.”

Another Saudi judge, in the city of Onaiza, was the source of a separate recent controversy: he twice denied a request from the mother of an 8-year-old girl that the girl be granted a divorce from her 47-year-old husband.

We must remember that behavior like this is coming from a region who considers us infadels: An unbeliever with respect to a particular religion, especially Christianity or Islam.  An infadel is further defined as one who doubts or rejects a particular doctrine, system, or principle.

In a way, aren’t we infadels?  We do reject certain doctrine, systems and principles.  Women, and men, have been fighting for women’s rights since 1848.  Have we ever lived in a value system that would allow some of these things to happen?  I would say no!

Having a set of twisted values makes people dangerous.  Normal criminals (if there is such a thing) lack the values to keep them from robbing or committing other heinous crimes up to and including murder.  But that doesn’t hold a candle to someone who has been brought up with beliefs that will allow them to strap a bomb to themselves in the name of what they believe to be right.  If someone is willing to do that, why wouldn’t they slap their wife for spending too much on clothes at the mall?  I’m not even going to get into the 8-year-old being married to a 47-year-old man!

We are better off here than we think sometimes.