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Saudi Women Offer to Breastfeed Their Drivers
Score one for Saudi women! Kind of.
A group looking to overturn a ban on women driving has taken this mind-boggling fatwa and used it against Islamic leaders who refuse to grant the women even a bit of freedom.
We reported on the new fatwa, which would allow women — who are forbidden from being alone with men whom they are not related to — to change their relationships with men by breastfeeding them. In sharing their milk (some controversy about how it should be distributed) they are no longer potential lovers, but symbolic mothers and sons.
The LA Times is reporting a new twist.
Activists looking to overturn the ban on women drivers say they’ll breastfeed their foreign male drivers, you know, to abide by the law of not being alone with unrelated men.
I guess nursing grown men is OK for Saudi clerics, but they draw the line at foreign men?
Who knew breastfeeding could be used in a revolution?
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Photo: LA Times
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0 Comments
Lisa commented on Jun 23 10 at 8:14 pmIslam is a backassward religion.
Jessica commented on Jun 23 10 at 10:00 pmThis is a Saudi law, not an Islamic law, Lisa. They’re not totally interchangeable, you know.
latif commented on Jun 24 10 at 6:24 ambismallaah, first of all breastfeeding is only up to two years, then after that its not allowed.if a women breast feeds a child(no older then 2 years of age) then yes when that child comes of age where he is a men, he will be allowed to see and be alone with that women.as far as women driving well thats a saudi thing, i never came across something in islam that says women cant drive.
anon commented on Jun 24 10 at 8:50 amand, you know, random women don’t just magically get milk, either…what a bunch of sensationalistic crap
bob commented on Jun 24 10 at 8:58 amI’m dying to hear what the Kardashians have to say about this.
Lisa commented on Jun 24 10 at 9:13 amJessica,
This came from a fatwah, a religious ruling not a legislative process.
anon commented on Jun 24 10 at 11:11 amKardashians…yeah, aren’t they Arabs (hahahaha)
bob commented on Jun 24 10 at 11:40 amanon misses the point.
Andrea commented on Jun 24 10 at 2:03 pmLisa: Fatwas aren’t like edicts from the Pope. Islam recognizes the ability of communities to agree upon their own authorities. It’s complicated, and in Saudi the religious clerics have force of law behind them so it’s different, but a fatwa is binding to those who accept the authority of the cleric issuing it. That is, a Muslim in America doesn’t have to follow a fatwa issued by the Wahabis. It does end up being a Saudi specific law because their clerics issue laws there, but their laws aren’t expected to apply to the Muslim community generally.
Lisa commented on Jun 24 10 at 6:04 pmAndrea,
I’m not stupid. I know that there is no central body governing Islam and that the strength of a fatwa depends upon the clerics followers. However, this stupid idea is based upon Islam and Islam itself is misogynistic.
And guess what… to a clerics followers, a fatwah is like an edict from the Pope. Notice that the rest of Christiandom ignores what the Pope says.
Andrea commented on Jun 25 10 at 10:52 pmLisa: Plenty of stupid, sexist, racist, ideas have been based on one interpretation or another of Christian theology. It’s still common now. Sects of Islam certainly have their problems, but in its pure form it’s really no more vulnerable to sexist interpretations than most other religions, including Christianity, in their pure forms. It may have more problems now, but it’s problems are also sensationalized and highlighted in American media, while the deep set and widespread problems in Christianity and Christian America are downplayed. There’s no argument here that it’s a stupid and sexist law coming from a backwards and cruel group of clerics; my argument is against the ignorant way you generalized it to the entire religion.
Lisa commented on Jun 26 10 at 7:46 pmAndrea,
Let’s look at some of Islam’s misogyny: female genital mutilation, raping women before executing them so they don’t get into paradise, marrying off girls as young as 8, discounting a woman’s testimony, requiring four male witnesses to prove rape, honor killings (and, of course, the idea attached that as my property I have to control my sister or daughter’s behavior), stoning women for adultery (or percieved adultery), forcing women to cover (yes, I know that in the West many women claim they have choice.. but many do not even in America and when you force a girl to cover as young as three, has she really any choice?), and more. Women are not equals in any sense of the word, they are property in Islam.
Oh and BTW, speaking of ignorance, you assume that because I find Islam to be backwards I must be a Christian; I am not. Christianity has its own share of sins but here’s the difference… they have made changes and the worst is no longer being practiced.
Jahangir commented on Oct 06 10 at 7:12 amI bet many men in Saudi are ready to suck women breast for some milk ;)
what a ridiculous Fatwa :)
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