Saturday, October 24, 2009

Culture clash

“RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – A Saudi court on Saturday convicted a female journalist for her involvement in a TV show, in which a Saudi man publicly talked about sex, and sentenced her to 60 lashes. Rozanna al-Yami is believed to be the first Saudi woman journalist to be given such a punishment. In the program, which aired in July on the Lebanese LBC satellite channel, Mazen Abdul-Jawad appears to describe an active sex life. The same court sentenced Abdul-Jawad earlier this month to five years in jail and 1,000 lashes. The case has scandalized this ultraconservative country where such public talk about sex is taboo and the sexes are strictly segregated. The government moved swiftly in the wake of the case, shutting down LBC's two offices in the kingdom and arresting Abdul-Jawad, who works for the national airline.” This case illustrates perfectly the differences between western culture and Middle Eastern values. Actually, the west used to hold these same conservative values back in the 1700s – now, however, this topless woman can legally walk down a New York City sidewalk without fear of arrest. Figure that one out.