You also speak of an obesity rate of 66%. Here in America we have a high obesity rate as well, I believe around one third. It is becoming the greatest threat to our nations health. Experts try to explain it in different ways: lack of exercise, eating the wrong foods like fast foods, sedentary lives, etc.

But I think that there is also a phsychological and spiritual dimension to obesity. For many of us, when life is not so kind, we take comfort in food. Your husband is cheating on you, so you eat. Your job is tedious, so you eat. Most of us don’t have too many outlets for our frustrations, so we choose to eat, as a way of calming our nerves.

If the obesity rate is high among Saudi women, as you suggest, then it could be a reflection of the pent up anger and frustration which result from being assigned second class status, and not being allowed to live up to their potential. It’s only a guess, but it could be the case.

There is something unnatural about how women in the Middle East are being treated. And don’t be fooled by the wealth. Just because you live in the lap of luxury doesn’t mean you’re happy. You’re happy when you’re productive. You’re happy when you’re allowed to make a difference. If you are told to shut up, and to stifle your best instincts, then you’re not happy, even if you’re rich.

The relations between men and women are dysfunctional in the Middle East, and in much of the West, for that matter. Righting that relationship is probably the single greatest step that could be taken to move the world in a slightly different direction, one that points to peace and stability. When things are not well at home, they are not well anywhere else.

While I could barely understand Zenobia’s post, if I did understand it correctly, I’d have to disagree with it. I don’t believe they’re doing this because it annoys men, and they want to make life more convenient for men – if this were the case, the men would be lobbying for a change, and it would come about faster. If something’s annoying for a man, there’s a smaller chance he’ll actually do it (the same for anyone, really. Who wants to do something that annoys them?). Meaning that it would be less likely that women who want to attend weddings could go, as they wouldn’t have a ride. Also, depending on what your internal timeclock is, sure, you might be able sleep for the rest of the day because you have no work to do, but your body might not want to stay up until past midnight, and sleep til late the next day. I know I’d probably be annoyed at a midnight wedding, nevermind if they were ALWAYS at midnight.

If you start with the smaller issues, like weddings, or even driving, then you are sending the message that you have a voice, and that your voice will not be silenced. Once you assume that position, you can move on to bigger things, like equal pay for equal work, or the freedom to marry whom you wish, or even brokering a peace in the region based on the equitable resolution of the issues.

Besides, who wants to go to a wedding when you’re so tired you don’t even know who is marrying who? That’s the kind on nonsense that women have little patience for. Their common sense can and should become part and parcel of the political landscape of the Middle East.