Those Wacky Wahhabis

From deep in the heart of darkness in the evil Saudi Arabian totalitarian state, home of the ultra-stupid and bloodthirsty Wahhabi Islamic cult, comes the news of husbands who have never seen their wive's veiled faces in a half century of marriage.

Al-Jazyia, a twenty-something mother of three, said, "I received only primary education and since the day I got married, my husband, who happens to be my cousin, has never seen my face, neither before nor after the marriage. I make sure to wear my veil day and night, so that there isn t any chance to see my face."

Not only are there husbands who have never seen their wives faces, there are brothers who have never seen their sister's faces, sons who have never seen their mothers faces. Forget about seeing the faces of female aunts and cousins. However, for some women, even those customs are not radical enough. They won't even show their faces to other women.

Says Al-Jazyia,"This tradition has been part of my life since the day I opened my eyes on the world. Believe it or not, I have never seen the faces of even my closest female relatives my cousins and aunts. ... One day a big fight broke out between two women just because one of them tried to uncover her face. Thank God the fight didn't develop beyond that point. Otherwise, she would have been punished by the tribe. ... (Covering my face) is a hundred times better than mixing with men and painting our faces with make-up."

Umm Majed, a sixty-something housewife in her mid-60s, is proud that her husband and her children have no idea what her face looks like, and brooks no questioning of custom: "Why do you interfere in our personal affairs? We have been brought up to respect this particular tradition. It never even occurred to me to ask why I have to cover my face in the presence of my father, brothers and my husband whom I married 40 years ago. For God s sake, leave us alone. We are content with our way of life."

Umm Fawaz, a 50 something wife, said she only uncovers her face after her hubby and kids have left the house, "Only then I can feel free to change my clothes and remove my veil. One day I walked over to the living room with my face uncovered. I never knew my husband was sitting there watching the TV. He saw my face."

Her husband screamed at the sight of her unveiled face.

"I ran to my room and I locked myself up for several hours. When I came out, he was very angry at me. It took him several months to get over it. Even in my wild dreams, I could never think of uncovering my face."