Saudi Court Orders 60 Lashings For Female Saudi Scribe

A Saudi Arabian court has ordered 60 lashings for Ms. Rozanna al-Yami, a female journalist of the ultra-conservative Islamic country. And what is her offence? Well, she was involved with ‘Bold Red Line’, a TV programme where a Saudi man publicly talked about sex, and even showed some sex toys.

Ms. Rozanna al-Yami was allegedly involved in the preparation of the programme, and also handled internet advertising of the segment.

We all understand how shocking and outrageous the conservative Saudi society has found the programme to be. And the Saudi judiciary probably cannot be blamed for handing out punishments to the man (named Mazen Abdul-Jawad) and Ms. Rozanna al-Yami.

But was there no way to punish them in a decent and civilized manner, something that would have been in tune with the 21st century? Is the barbaric practice of lashing the only way out to maintain the so called social, cultural and religious purity of the famous Middle-East kingdom?

When will the Saudi judiciary and (more importantly) the Saudi government realize the necessity to evolve with time?

The Saudi King Abdullah is well-advised to learn few lessons from his Jordanian counterpart (and also his namesake) King Abdullah II about how to drive a conservative Islamic country towards modernity, instead of retaining the ridiculous status quo that is preventing his beautiful kingdom from flourishing into a genuinely respectable place that the modern world can identify itself with.