Looking for the bright side, the Guardian's correspondent visits a women's factory. An unveiled woman sees him and screams in panic. One big problem with women workers: they have no way to get to the factories, because they are barred from driving, and it's too dangerous to take cabs. Then there's this:
"Although women still cannot vote or drive, the last few years have brought important changes, even if they stop well short of equality. Women can now officially exist in their own right with their own identity cards, rather than being included on the card of their husband or father. Travel restrictions have been eased, allowing them to get blanket permission from a male relative for travel abroad, rather than needing separate permission for each trip."
My italics. Here's a question for Hollywood: why do we rarely see movies about the brutalization of women in Islamic countries? Isn't this virtual slavery a vital human rights issue? Shouldn't this appeal to liberal film-makers? The other day, I watched "Not Without My Daughter," the harrowing account of an American woman trapped in Iran by her Iranian husband and his family. The movie was made fifteen years ago. Have I missed any more recent mainstream movies about the persecution of women in the Middle East?