Summary: On Monday, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah overturned a criminal court sentence of 60 lashes and a two-year travel ban on female journalist Rosanna al-Yami. She was sentenced for working on a television show which explores social taboos, and aired an episode in which a man bragged about his sex life. Many believe that this pardon is a message from the king to the Saudi justice system that it should stop punishing journalists for excercising freedom of speech, and a sign that he is trying to reform his ultra-conservative country. In Saudi Arabia unrelated men and women aren't allowed to mingle, and pre-marital sex is illegal. This isn't the first time the "king of hearts" has stepped in on the legal system in Saudi Arabia. Last year he pardoned another woman who, although she'd been gang raped, was sentenced to 200 lashes and 2 yrs in prison for being in the prescence of the unrelated men who raped her.
Opinion: The differences between our American culture, and the culture of Saudi Arabia are night and day. Television shows in this country are full of violence, profanity, sex, and more, and hardly anybody bats an eyelash. Meanwhile in the Middle East one show that would hardly be controversial here is the center of an enormous criminal case. I wonder if we had the same sexist, ultra-conservative, anti-freedom of speech, and old-fashioned laws and standards, how many thousands upon thousands of american journalists, tv execs, actors, actresses, and average citizens would be behind bars right now? The social mores and customs in Saudi Arabia are so foreign to me. I am so used to being on an equal plane with males, and having all my freedoms and rights, yet such things are completely unheard of in Saudi Arabia. It seems like they are in a completely different world, or at least a few centuries behind our equal rights, etc. I wonder how long it will be before the Saudi society accepts more 'controversial' ideas, allow complete freedom of speech, and treat men and women as equals. Such time-worn traditions take time to break apart, but this story shows signs of progress. I hope that king Abdullah and others will make even more progress.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/10/27/saudi.king.pardon/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
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