> That's mostly widows or divorced women (IIRC a muslim in countries like
> Iran(sp?), Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan can divorce from his wife just by
> speaking it out three times, can someone please yell "Middle Ages"?).
I'm not sure if that's quite right... but it is REALLY easy for the man
to divorce women (like if they don't bear children) but very difficult
to go the other way (the man has to be a pretty big bastard).
> Afghanistan is in the Middle East (Asia). It was Muslim before, I think.
Go go gadget geography!
Sorry, I was in a rush and thinking "muslim people" and of the
anthropology class I'm currently taking (one of the books we read was of
an African culture).
> > We have to be careful when looking at other cultures and evaluating them
> > from our point of view. :o)
>
> I don't think it is valid to say that just because s.th. is "culture",
> that it's right.
Oh, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that we can't really say it's
100% wrong for women to follow the Muslim system of "purdah" (veiling
and seclusion) and so forth just because we think our society "works
better" and whatnot.
Just because the system would be really twisted here doesn't mean it's
really twisted there... if that makes sense.
If we're thinking America... (or most western cultures)... it would be
very much a culture-shock to be put into that sort of position,
especially militiously (is that even a word?). But, in a Muslim society,
it would be less of a shock, more of an adjustment. The Koran says
explicitly that women should "cast down their looks and guard their
private parts and do not display their
ornaments except what appears thereof, and let them wear their
head-coverings over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments...",
so if they *were* a Muslim country/area previously, it'd likely just be
a change from a previously "used" system to a more militant one.
That, however, does not make some of the behaviour toward women in such
cultures correct, nor does it mean women here are treated 100% with
respect 100% of the time.
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