Saudi women stifled by stringent restrictions

So in the view of the kingdom's conservative society, the young rape victim broke the first of a string of cardinal rules and sinned by being in the physical presence of a male who is not a directly-related relative.

In Saudi Arabia, a male guardian, who could be the woman's grandfather, father, uncle, husband, son or brother, literally controls her life.

Women must be covered from head to toe, hiding their shapes thanks to a loose-fitting black "abaya" gown, and most of them wear as well a "hijab" veil over the heads and a "niqab" mask concealing the faces, except for the eyes.
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