Saudi Arabia Is Nuts

Saudi Arabia's New Flag

I’m all for diversity in the world. Cultural nuances are what make life, travel and coinhabitation interesting and educational! But some things are just ridiculous and it’s time for some cultures to jump the civil and humanitarian chasm that separates them from the rest of the world. For instance,

In Saudi Arabia clerics have issued a fatwa suggesting women breast feed unrelated men they have regular contact with so that the men can be considered relatives. The strict Wahhabi version of Islam that governs modern Saudi Arabia forbids women from mixing with men who are not relatives. By breastfeeding a man a woman becomes related to the man, and is then free to interact with that man unencumbered by the strict segregation of the sexes imposed by the Wahhabi version of Islam.

“Modern” Saudi Arabia. Yeah, because it’s so progressive. I have an idea, why don’t you relax a bit on the strict Wahhabi law and just allow women to mingle and chat with other men without having to breast feed them. I mean, a loophole is one thing, but if you have to get around a law by having grown men drink the breast milk of women so that they can have a conversation, then it’s time for an amendment to that law.

Clerics are unable to agree whether or not the man must take the milk directly from the breast, or if it is acceptable for the man to drink pumped breast milk from a cup.

Oh for fuck’s sake! Here’s a better idea, why don’t you not worry about the symantics of legal breast milk for a minute and focus on letting your women vote, drive, or travel out of the country if they wanted to? If you’re really trying to leave the middle ages behind you, try coming all the way up to the 21st century instead of dabbling a toe in the “End of the Middle Ages + 1 day”.