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Lavish Wives Deserve a Slap: Saudi Judge

His comments are met with protest at domestic violence conference

By Ambreen Ali, Newser User

Posted May 11, 2009 6:00 AM CDT

(Newser) – A Saudi judge says women who spend lavishly on items like designer abayas (black gowns) deserve to be slapped by their husbands, Arab News reports. His comments at a domestic violence conference invoked loud protests from women in the audience. The judge also lamented that "nobody puts even a fraction of blame" on women for the nation’s rising domestic abuse problem.

"This is how men in Saudi Arabia see women," a Saudi women's rights activist tells CNN. "They've been raised to see women this way, that they're less than a person."

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

A Saudi woman is seen shopping. Spendthrift wives deserve to be slapped by their husbands, a Saudi judge recently said. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Saudi women should share the blame for rising domestic violence, the judge said. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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They've been raised in a culture that tells them it's okay to raise your hand to a woman, that this works.
- Wajeha Al-Huwaider, a Saudi women's rights activist

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Lavish Wives Deserve a Slap: Saudi Judge