nytimes.com — Asking a woman for her number can cause a young man anxiety anywhere. But in Saudi Arabia, getting caught with an unrelated woman can mean arrest, a possible flogging and dishonor, the worst penalty of all in a society where preserving a family’s reputation depends on faithful adherence to a strict code of separation between the sexes.
May 12, 2008 View in Crawl 4
dysarthriaMay 12, 2008
Missing the point, the NYT fails to point out that all this could be undone if that society were willing to change. Until then, screw 'em.
haner4May 12, 2008
These young men seem awfully pathetic by modern Western and East Asian standards. Living at home and dependent at the age of 25? Watching Oprah and Dr. Phil as entertainment? Pudgy and no exercise? Heckling and harassing female strangers? Deep thoughts wavering between "there is no romance" and "there is romance"? What a catch.It's no wonder that these Saudi men support their country's strict and misogynist social order. If these men were Chinese living in China, they would have trouble even finding women who would want them as a date.
shehabhamadMay 12, 2008
this is a true depiction of a small slice of saudi society but certainly not indicative of middle eastern youth in general. it is interesting that the expected teenage, youthful agnst-y rebellion seems to be less pronounced in the middle east.