seedhi Posted June 23, 2010 Posted June 23, 2010 Wow, these women have turned the breastfeeding fatwa on its head .. too good! SAUDI ARABIA: Women threaten to breastfeed drivers if they aren't allowed to drive Many were stunned when Saudi cleric Sheik Abdel Mohsen Obeikan recently issued a fatwa, or Islamic ruling, calling on women to give breast milk to their male colleagues or men they come into regular contact with so as to avoid illicit mixing between the sexes. But a group of Saudi women has taken the controversial decree a step further in a new campaign to gain the right to drive in the ultra-conservative kingdom, media reports say. If they're not granted the right to drive, the women are threatening to breastfeed their drivers to establish a symbolic maternal bond. "Is this is all that is left to us to do: to give our breasts to the foreign drivers?" a Saudi woman named Fatima Shammary was quoted as saying by Gulf News. Obeikan argued in his decree that if the women give their drivers their breast milk, the chauffeurs would be able to mingle with all members of the family without having to worry about violating Islamic law. Some Islamic scholars frown on the mixing of unmarried men and women. Islamic tradition, or hadith, stipulates that breastfeeding establishes a maternal bond, even if a woman breastfeeds a child who is not her own. Drawing from the cleric's advocacy, the women have reportedly chosen a slogan for their campaign that translates to, "We either be allowed to drive or breastfeed foreigners." The current driving ban applies to all women in Saudi Arabia, regardless of their nationality, and it's been a topic of heated public debate in recent years. The ban on driving was unofficial at first but was introduced as official legislation after 47 Saudi women drove cars through the streets of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in 1990 in an attempt to challenge authorities. The incident brought harsh consequences for the women, who were jailed for a day and had their passports confiscated. Many of them were said to have been forced to leave their jobs after the driving protest. Still, every now and then, reports of Saudi women driving in defiance of the ban emerge in the media. Two years ago, 125 women in Saudi Arabia signed a petition that called on the Saudi interior minister to lift the ban. One of the Saudi female signatories, Wajeha Huwaider, posted a video of herself driving on YouTube in a direct appeal to the Saudi authorities to allow women to drive. "For women to drive is not a political issue," Wajeha said as she sat behind the wheel. "It is not a religious issue. It is a social issue, and we know that many women of our society are capable of driving cars. We also know that many families will allow their women to drive." http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/06/saudi-women-use-fatwa-in-driving-bid.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+BabylonBeyond+(Babylon+%26+Beyond+Blog)
Ram Posted June 23, 2010 Posted June 23, 2010 A nonsensical, sexist ban on women driving deserves an equally non-sensical, preposterous reaction from the women folk in Saudi Arabia. Good on the ladies!
seedhi Posted June 23, 2010 Author Posted June 23, 2010 The Saudi drivers are hoping for the breast ...
yoda Posted June 23, 2010 Posted June 23, 2010 Islamic tradition, or hadith, stipulates that breastfeeding establishes a maternal bond, even if a woman breastfeeds a child who is not her own. Damn Hinduism. :((
seedhi Posted June 23, 2010 Author Posted June 23, 2010 A nonsensical' date=' sexist ban on women driving deserves an equally non-sensical, preposterous reaction from the women folk in Saudi Arabia. Good on the ladies![/quote']You forgot the most nonsensical breastfeeding fatwa decreeing that women should give their breast milk to male coworkers, acquaintances: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/06/saudi-arabia-clerics-call-for-women-to-give-men-breastmilk-to-avoid-unislamic-mixing.html .
Sachinism Posted June 23, 2010 Posted June 23, 2010 You couldn't make it up :cantstop: Absolutely. WTF news of the month
vvvslaxman Posted June 23, 2010 Posted June 23, 2010 Can she move to Saudi Arabia? :hehe: Who is this lady i see every other page i visit.
mastana Posted June 23, 2010 Posted June 23, 2010 Who is this lady i see every other page i visit. Melissa Theuriau. French journalist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mélissa_Theuriau
Texy Posted June 23, 2010 Posted June 23, 2010 w/o OIL money... Saudi Arabia is just another desert dump just like their brothers in the middle east and our neighbor zero skills zero scientific developments zero human rights extreme sexist society I'm waiting for the day our dependence on OIL goes out and this sh!thole goes back to the dump it really is with cave dwellers and uneducated morons fighting and killing and stripping people of basic human rights in the name of religion...
EnterTheVoid Posted June 23, 2010 Posted June 23, 2010 I lived in the gulf (Sultanate of Oman) for 10 years. A relatively peaceful and lovely place to live, even there, sex segregation was there. I'd hate to imagine how bad it is in Saudi Arabia.
Zap_Brannigan Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 I recently saw a documentary type show (I think in MTV or something) about 4 stories in Saudi Arabia about how some young people deal with what they want to do but cannot. The 4 stories went something like this, 1. About a Girl who is about 19 – She doesn’t like black burqas so starts a business to get some colored burqa tailored. Gets some resistance from shop keepers and tailors but manages to get it done and have a private show for her friends. She likes to ride a bi-cycle but has to dress up as a guy (baggy clothes, baseball cap etc) to do that. 2. Some idiot who tries to find love in the internet – Chats up a girl for a long time but hasn’t seen the girls face in pictures as she only showed her hands in the picture. Sets up a meeting place in a mall, but cannot get in as a guy without a family. Gets help from a female friend of his to get in but the girl never shows or she probably showed up and he didn’t realize as everyone was in a burqa. 3. An indie rock band that plays metal music – Cannot play in Jeddah as it’s banned. Tries to book a hall to play but cannot. Goes to a neighboring city for a competition but competition is closed mid-way before they could play because culture police doesn’t like people wearing black T-shorts with devil pictures or words in them. 4. About a young legislator who tries to bring women into the city hall to hear their opinions. It happens but getting them inside the building is seen as a big step. Nothing came out of it because the women wanted to drive which still hasn’t happened. Remember, all these people are rich yet cannot do something as basic as ride a bi-cycle.
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