BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent | Saudi Arabia's unseen reform
Back in February, I pointed readers towards a Guardian article on the glacial pace of reform for women in Saudi Arabia.
The BBC shorter article above covers similar ground, but it is such a bizarre society that I find these reports irresistable. In part:
Saudi universities are segregated, separate campuses for men and women, to the extent that male lecturers as a rule only interact with female students via videophone linkups....
Relating to a visit to a shopping centre:
There is a steady trade at the abaya shop. Next door a display of lingerie is far sexier than anything I have seen in London.
The newest move is to introduce female shop assistants here, so Saudi women no longer need to buy their underwear from male attendants.
Why on earth are men not generally allowed to stand in front of a classroom of women, but can sell them sexy underwear? Just how turned on can a man get by looking at a roomfull of black cloth bags?
And generally:
But all those I spoke to agreed, any new reforms must go slowly to avoid a backlash.
The protest by Saudi women who dared flout the ban on driving during the first Iraq war in 1991 had been disastrous, prompting a wave of conservative anger. That mistake must not be repeated this time.
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