In a typical move by the highest religious council in Saudi Arabia, clerics recently announced that if women were allowed to drive in their country, it would lead to “no more virgins” in the Kingdom.

The statement says a lot about the view of women in Saudi Arabia. First,… Read full post »

When my husband was looking for work, I started praying that he would find a job that wouldn’t pay too much.

I mean, I wanted him to get paid enough, so we could afford to have a car, an apartment, and, if possible, a baby. For a while there,… Read full post »

She arrived: one fist balled up by her jaw, as though she already knew what kind of punches life can throw at you sometimes, that you have to be ready for them. She was ready, sober, and silent. She scrunched up her eyes at the light and grimaced at all the… Read full post »

            My generation has always befuddled my grandfather.

            He was a child of the depression, working on a failing farm in Iowa as far back as he could remember. Up at dawn t… Read full post »

            I never felt so disoriented as I did when, after a 36-hour flight and a seven-hour drive, I finally arrived at the Kyangwali refugee camp in western Uganda. Out the car window, the scenery looked like something straight out of Nationa… Read full post »

We met at just the sort of place we all would’ve loved back in college: funky art, greasy burgers, an enormous selection of beer. Since the four of us have, until recently, lived in four different cities on three continents, we only managed to have a night together like this every… Read full post »

            An Italian parliamentary commission passed a draft law yesterday that would prohibit women from veiling their faces in public. Lawmaker Barbara Saltamartini said she approved the move that would “put an end to the suffering of m/… Read full post »

            It’s a vulnerable position: half-naked under a paper-thin gown, legs trembling under the blast of air-conditioning, waiting for a stranger to come stick their fingers inside you. I didn’t think any… Read full post »

It wasn’t until I was sitting in the doctor’s office, getting blood drawn to begin what would be three months of HIV testing, that I decided to quit. No, I’m not talking about unsafe sex or intravenous drug use; I’m talking about teaching preschool.

I’d gotten th… Read full post »

Dieting is hard under any circumstances, but giving up junk food in Saudi Arabia is like giving up showering. Sure, it's your body, and it's your choice. But you can imagine what a choice like that would do to your popularity.

See, Saudi Arabia is kind of a fat country. Not… Read full post »

I imagine the call, down at the station:

"Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. What is your emergency?"

 "Yeah, we're gonna need a unit up here immediately. We found a severed wolf's head wrapped in women's lingerie."

So the alarm starts howling. Men jump into action… Read full post »