(Newsweek) - When a fire broke out at a girls' school in Mecca, a member of the muttawa - morality vigilantes - prevented firefighters from entering the building because some of the fleeing girls had left their headscarves behind, and their would-be rescuers were men. Fifteen girls died and more than 40 were injured. All women in Saudi Arabia live in a kind of gender apartheid, separate and unequal. In a confidential poll of men age 25-41 conducted by the Saudi intelligence agency in October 2001, 95% approved of Osama bin Laden’s cause.
2002-07-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive