cultures who deem women as subservient to men. I don't think it has anything to do with Islam. I have had over the years friendships with various Muslim women from various countries and I'll admit I sort of went through a bit of culture shock over the customs, like a young women I trained for a job, who was subject to an arranged marriage. However, her family allowed her some time to get to know the young man before the marriage. If she had not wanted to be married to him, they would not have forced her.
Another young woman I worked with was delivered to and picked up from work by one of her brothers. She was not allowed to date except those young men her parents approved of and I assume a family member accompanied them. I lost touch with her and don't know if she ever married but when I knew her she was quite happy go lucky and cheerful. I believe her family well loved her and treated her well. Another married woman I knew, a neighbor, with several children ruled the roost in her home and her husband was quite henpecked, yet she wore the hajib and didn't drive. She had to rely on male relatives to drive her around.
Another one was the second wife of a Saudi sheik. She had her own home in Beverly Hills with servants and a limo service she could call anytime. She was quite content to be #2 wife because it allowed her free time to go shopping and lunching with friends, when he wasn't around and spending time with wife #1 and her children. I became friends with her in a beauty shop we both went to.
None of these women I knew were abused. They just had different customs, none I could follow but they seemed to be comfortable in their own skins and with their circumstances. Anyway, this is just my personal experiences with these women although I didn't spend as much time with them as I did other friends who had more freedom to go out and hang out with girl friends.
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