Be Good Not Bad : Web Design :: Brian Warren : Denver, Colorado

This Article was written by Aaron Orr, Watchtan’s part-time contributer.

I was perusing the Kuwait Times (a daily English language newspaper) today and as I flipped toward the back to see what kind of oddities the Kuwaitis might be hocking in their classifieds I found something that floored me.

After the standard fare of used computers and a few miscellaneous items I found a section just below the ‘91 Chevy Caprice entitled “Matrimonial.”

An ad said, and I swear I am not making this up, “Orthodox parents invite proposals for their daughter, [age] 25/152 [centimeters], post-graduate engineer working in Kuwait, from parents of post-graduate engineers, doctors or chartered accountants below 30 years. Interested may contact:” and a yahoo email address.

There were 9 such ads in this paper. This modern version of the centuries-old practice of trading camels and sheep for virgins is insane. It completely boggles my mind that people in this modern age, in this very modern and wealthy country place classifieds pitching their daughters to strangers and the world at large.

At the same time, this Muslim nation continues to keep laws on its books regarding extra-marital sex despite its ubiquitousness.

There is a brief article near the front of the paper entitled “Four in custody for adultery.” The meat of the article follows:

“The first case papers indicate that a citizen caught his Asian housemaid while having sex with her Arab boyfriend in his own house in Roudha area. The sources noted that the sponsor immediately locked the maid’s bedroom door and called the police. Meanwhile, another Asian was arrested for the same reasons as he had planned to celebrate the Eid* in his own way, taking advantage of the absence of his girlfriend’s sponsors in their house. Both were arrested and transferred to the concerned authorities.”

*the Eid is a Muslim celebration and feast