Comments on: Saudi Women Boycott Lingerie Shops Staffed by Men

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 05:52:00 +0000

As a former saudi native let me tell you what its like. I think you have a misrepresentation about Islam. You are getting two things mixed up. Saudi is ruled by a muslim king, how the affluent rich saudi men entertain themselves should not be a representation of their “holy book”. They simply are not religious and don’t follow any real book but their own will. As every religion has it own group of so called religious figures that use religion for their own purposes and not follow all of it. In this case, their holy book is the Quran which has the Bibical stories of Virgin Mary, Moses, David, Jonah, Joseph, and all of the prophets with the addition of Prophet Muhammed ( May Peace be upon All of them) Amen. The basic messages: Submit to God. Do good unto others. Don’t lie. Be Modest. Don’t do adultery. Obey Your parents. Be good to your neighbor.Marriage is a sacrament with God. In fact the religion has the same principles that other major religions have. As far as the lingerie goes,women in islam want to look good for their husbands not for other men. This is why they wear long robes, and cover their beauty. They want to be respected on how they conduct themselves and on what they say.They dont want to be ogled at by unwanted eyes and this causes alot of problems in society. Men ogling women rape or sexual predators advance on women and this may lead to illegitimate or unwanted children not to mention lifelong trauma to a woman experiencing such horrendous acts. If you look at pictures of Mary (may peace be upon her) you will find even she was covered. She was modest and unmarried. She didnt let any man near her. When she got the revelation that she is pregnant she exclaimed how can i be when no man has touched me. In islam we try to be like Mary. We try to be modest and wear decent clothes.

By: Luanne

Luanne — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:14:20 +0000

I agree, it’s a problem. But the men don’t really touch these women but they do have to ogle to size them up. And since there are no fitting rooms, the women have to eyeball the garments and try them on at home. I think this is just another example of the hypocrisy existing in a society in which women are covered head-to-toe in black cloth while the men of wealth entertain themselves with western-style blonds in their private discos. You either follow the good book or you don’t. You can’t really make up rules as you go along to suit your sexuality or desire for power.

By: Natalia

Natalia — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 07:53:39 +0000

That’s awful. And it could even be traumatic for women in such a society to have to be fitted and ogled by men when they’re buying underwear. That’s ridiculous. I hope these women get what they deserve!!

By: Sarah I

Sarah I — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:57:28 +0000

This is certainly strange, since in Islamic law it is absolutely forbidden for unmarried men and women to have any physical contact, and often even eye contact! Maybe Saudi Arabia is a bit more liberal now, but in the past they were extremely strict about this.

Yes, very strange indeed. Certainly women-only lingerie shops are preferable, whether you’re Muslim or not!!