Dear Bee...

I stand corrected. Your first sentence is probably quite true, and if I wished to wax eloquent about it, perhaps it should have been somewhere else. But... ...the subject was about "the failure of feminism".

I'll stick to Saudi Arabia.

Can change come within? This is unlikely. The regime is so repressive that any doubt results in death! If change came, it would be sudden and catastrophic!

What would change from within bring? Another, equally repressive, less friendly theocracy? Hard to tell, since no one would dare to give an honest answer to a pollster.

Could external pressure change things? Sure, but very slowly. Pressure works both ways. China and Saudi Arabia both work hard to decrease human rights in the west; they can use economic sanctions, too!

It's hopeless? In the short run, yes. At best, a long, slow series of mutual "pressures" will probably tip the balance in favour of a more egalitarian world, over several generations.

What will help? Less oil. Less phoney respect for religion. Less "real-politick".

What about "moderate" Muslims? That would be great, if there were any. How many were willing to denounce the fatwa on Salman Rushdie? Where are the Muslim equivalents of Unitarians? Are there Muslim Atheists? Muslim feminists?

What would you do, you lazy pontificating old fart? If I were God, I'd make oil unburnable for a decade. This would cause great misery in the short run. But we'd figure something out.