It has been good to read many indignant letters in the GDN from many people in Bahrain angry about recent comments of an MP, for goodness sake, regarding rape inside marriage.
Notions that wives are possessions and that men have the right to do with them as they wish, under some ancient interpretation of a covenant in the Quran, are rightly condemned by many fellow Muslims.
It is hard to believe in a sophisticated and modern country such as Bahrain that an MP can claim husbands have a right to force sex on a wife, even if she is reluctant, so there can be no rape within marriage.
He seems to think a bit of slapping wives around, even beating them up a little, can be construed as “rough sex”.
And if she is unwilling and resists him, she can be punished by cutting back her spending money in the mall!
What sort of a relationship is that? It is one riven by blackmail.
It is hard to believe that such attitudes still exist in the 21st Century.
Then again, in Australia last week a female Senator dressed in a burqa in parliament to draw attention to demands to ban the garment in the country.
Face recognition is an important thing in Australia, so people wearing helmets and other face-hiding headgear while visiting institutions like banks prompted the question: “Why shouldn’t women in burqas be treated the same way as other fellow Australians?”
Her call will have some adherents in her electorate, but the motion to introduce such a bill, was slapped down by the attorney general as disgusting, repulsive and divisive in Australian society.
It was highly offensive mockery of religious beliefs, a stunt, to sit in the Senate wearing a full burqa in an attempt to generate attention and get it banned.
It was offensive to all Australians, particularly the many Muslims who are good, hard-working, valued citizens in the country’s rich, multicultural society.
The attorney general received a standing ovation from the entire Senate and replied with a forceful “no” when asked if the burqa would be banned.
So Bahrain is not alone in having elected representatives whose views do not reflect community standards.
Another issue demanding attention in Bahrain involves graduates getting “fake degrees”, which are not recognised by education authorities.
There seems to be a problem of inadequate due diligence, which left students suffering enormous difficulties after completing lengthy studies.
Yet even those who graduate with legitimate and recognised degrees, looking pleased and happy as they should, face a rude awakening.
While universities keep churning out graduates as though they are factories, where people are ground out like sausages, where will the jobs be found for these new entrants to the workforce?
Or are they just fodder for the overseas job market?