Presumably, Dr. Kamal is important enough to have an underling to drive her to and from work. But I would hope that Saudi women do want the right to vote--the NYT article was vague on that point.

Just give me my cheap oil Saudi bitches! Failing that you are subhumans I have no use for.

I hope Hughes responded "if you have the right to drive it doesn't mean you will be forced to"

But the incident does show the mindset common in too many places. "i choose to live in my way so you cannot choose to live otherwise".

It's more than that, KenS. Americans have made a lot of choices and can't imagine why anyone would make other choices. Many choices involve balancing different values. We have freedom of religion, but also an essentially secular society that ignores God and lacks any agreed moral values or traditions. We have freedom of speech but have to tolerate pornography and hate groups. We have better employment opportunities for women but millions of latchkey kids with no parents raising them. We enjoy luxuries today knowing that future generations will have to suffer more because of them. We have popular input on important policy decisions but have to tolerate stupid decisions made by crowds led by demagogues. Our suburbs give us privacy but lack community.

It's up to us to make our own choices about these things, but we need to allow other countries to make up their own minds about these tradeoffs.

I love this quote:

"The group of women on Tuesday, picked by the university, represented the privileged elite of this Red Sea coastal city"

Imagine. The "privileged elite" are satisfied with the status quo. Who knew?

reply to wahoofive

I specifically referred to individuals not cultures or countries. The story as written (always treacherous ground) says the wealthy doctor thinks that since she has a personal driver then it is fine that others are not permitted to drive.

That is not culture nor is it religion.

Regarding Ms.Hughes job. It is futile and counter-productive to send people on these sort of missions. Who wants public lectures from foreign governments?

Actually I am surprised Hughes is doing anything at all. I figured the job was just a political plum so she would draw a nice salary with free overseas vacations.