Hamas authorities on Thursday asked several educational institutions in southern Gaza Strip to segregate males and females in compliance with Islamic norms.

The call appeared on a notification signed by Police General-Directorate in Rafah town, ordering private social and educational centers to sign a form demanding their commitment of Islamic and Palestinian traditions and preventing smoking.

The police threatened to impose about 1,300 U.S. dollars in fine to those who do not commit to “inform the police about suspected students or infracting decency.”

It’s okay, they’re only going to fine violaters. There won’t be any floggings.

Yet.

Previous decision included forcing lawyers and high school female students to wear long, loose uniforms with head covers and preventing women from riding behind men on motorcycles.

Gee, I really can’t argue with those Muslims who tell me how liberating Islam is for women.

Egypt’s top Islamic authority defended women’s rights to wear trousers in public following a high profile court case in neighboring Sudan were women were flogged for dressing in pants, the local press reported Wednesday.

Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa said in response to a question during a public lecture that trousers covering women’s bodies are permitted, though they should be loose and not see through. He specified that “stretch” pants were in particular unacceptable.

Other than that, feel free to join in with the rest of the modern women and wear long, loose, shapeless, flowing pants.

Oh, wait. That’s only women in yoga classes.

Or wearing pajamas.

But hey, you go, girls! Wear that modern hijab and feel liberated!

Hamas backs off on the hijab for lawyers—for now: Apparently Hamas is not entirely ignorant of public relations. Their version of a supreme court said that female lawyers only have to “dress modestly,” not wear a headscarf when they appear in court. Give them time. They’ll come back with another try.

Muslim ERA watch: Sudan shows its modernity by fining a woman for wearing pants. This is actually good news. She was supposed to be whipped for her audacity. Just for comparison’s sake, women in Israel can wear pants freely and without punishment. But Israel is the country that women’s groups protest.

British Christians protest book slamming Jesus: Watch out, British Christians are about to erupt in fury over a book saying that Jesus isn’t the son of God. Expect riots, death, destruction—oh, no, wait. Expect sternly worded letters of protest. And people saying they won’t buy the book. (Judging by so many of the comments in British newspapers and blogs, there will also be a strong contingent of atheists cheering the author on.)

The Iranian revolution continues: Whoa. Khatami and Moussavi are on the move again, and the news media have decided that Iran is news again. Wonder if they’ll run all those hagiographic news articles on Ahmadinejad when he hits New York for the UN session later this month? That should be a treat—Ghaddafy, Mad Mahmoud, and probably Chavez. It’s the Triple Crown of America-hating nutjobs!

Appealing to a powerful Saudi prince, an 8-year-old girl asked why she was not allowed to play sports in school like boys. She got an unexpected response: The prince said he hoped government schools for girls would allow playing fields.

And how cool is this? The AP is taking this mealy-mouthed, patronizing anti-feminist pap and pushing it like it’s the equivalent of America’s Title IX.

The stand taken by Prince Khaled al-Faisal, governor of the holy city of Mecca and one of the most senior second-generation members of the royal family, on the controversial issue is the strongest official endorsement so far of women’s sports and a sign the government may be tilting toward opening up on that front.

And exactly why is it such obvious bullshit? Because in the next breath, the AP reports this:

Physical education classes are banned in state-run girls schools in conservative Saudi Arabia. Saudi female athletes are not allowed to participate in the Olympics. Women’s games and marathons have been canceled when the powerful clergy get wind of them. And some clerics even argue that running and jumping can damage a woman’s hymen and ruin her chances of getting married.

“Conservative”? Ronald Reagan was a conservative. A better description of Saudi Arabia would be “feudal.” Except I’m pretty sure that women had more rights in feudal Europe than they have in modern Saudi Arabia. And lest you think that the prince was suggesting any form of equality for women, think again:

According to local newspapers, the 8-year-old girl told Khaled: “I ask myself why is it that only boys can play sports and have courts while we girls don’t have anything?”

“I hope to see sports courts for girls inside girls’ schools,” the prince responded, according to Al-Hayat newspaper.

He said if this were to happen, it will be in coordination with the Education Ministry and “according to certain mechanisms that take into consideration women’s privacy in this country.”

Yes, the fabled privacy excuse. Because given half the chance, women in Muslim lands won’t throw off the shackles of repression and try to live normal lives. Oh, wait. Yes, they will (cf: Afghanistan, Iraq).

But when you live with medieval freaks like these, well, your choices are limited:

A statement issued by three senior clerics last month lashed out at Saudis who demand the opening of more gyms for women, saying such a move would “open the doors wide for spreading decadence.”

“It is well-known that only women with no shame will go to these clubs,” said the statement signed by clerics Abdul-Rahman al-Barrack, Abdul-Aziz al-Rajihi and Abdullah bin Jibrin.

In a recent column in Al-Watan newspaper, Sheik Abdullah al-Mani, an adviser at the royal court, said virgins should think twice before engaging in sports.

“Soccer or basketball require running and jumping and these could damage (a woman’s) the hymen,” he wrote. “If she marries, her husband will … think that her hymen was destroyed as a result of an (immoral) action.”

“He will either divorce her or lose confidence in her chastity,” he added.

But sure, let’s respect their culture and traditions. Because practices like these simply cry out for respect.

Shyeah.

A Saudi judge told a conference on domestic violence that a man has the right to slap a wife who spends money wastefully and said women were as much to blame as men for increased spousal abuse, a Saudi newspaper reported.

The remarks do not carry the weight of law, as they were made out of court. But such public pronouncements by Saudi judges – who are also Islamic clerics – are often widely respected.

Yeah, this is the nation whose leaders Bush and Obama have both bowed to. This is the country that got Barbara Walters, Nancy Pelosi, and Laura Bush to wear headscarves. This is the nation that is supplying the funds to the Wahabbi mosques seeded throughout the nation. Boy, what a great bunch of guys!

“If a person gives 1,200 Saudi riyals ($320) to his wife and she spends 900 riyals ($240) to purchase an abaya (head-to-toe robe) from a brand shop and if her husband slaps her on the face as a reaction to her action, she deserves that punishment,” Judge Hamad Al-Razine was quoted as saying by the English-language Arab News newspaper on Sunday.

Let me translate that into Americanese: “Bitch! You spent too much money on your tent!”

Okay, maybe I elaborated a bit. Substitute “dress” for “tent.”

But gee, what a great country. Not.

A 75-year-old widow in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to 40 lashes and four months in jail for mingling with two young men who are not close relatives, drawing new criticism for the kingdom’s ultraconservative religious police and judiciary.

The woman’s lawyer told The Associated Press on Monday that he would appeal the verdict against Khamisa Sawadi, who is Syrian but was married to a Saudi. The attorney, Abdel Rahman al-Lahem, said the verdict issued March 3 also demands that Sawadi be deported after serving her sentence.

[...] The newspaper Al-Watan said the woman met with the two 24-year-old men last April after she asked them to bring her five loaves of bread at her home in al-Chamil, a city north of the capital, Riyadh.

Al-Watan identified one man as Fahd al-Anzi, the nephew of Sawadi’s late husband, and the other as his friend and business partner Hadiyan bin Zein. It said they were arrested by the religious police after delivering the bread. The men also were convicted and sentenced to lashes and prison.

The court said it based its ruling on “citizen information” and testimony from al-Anzi’s father, who accused Sawadi of corruption.

“Because she said she doesn’t have a husband and because she is not a Saudi, conviction of the defendants of illegal mingling has been confirmed,” the court verdict read.

March 8 was International Women’s Day. Just a few days ago, the AP presented a whitewash piece on how the Saudis are allowing women to do more normal things. I guess asking your nephew to bring you food because you’re 75 years old and a widow isn’t one of the things that the Saudis will allow women to do.

In Saudi Arabia, the AP flacks for the kingdom point out that women can now attend the Riyadh International Book Fair for more than the two half-days they attended last year—but they can’t give autographed copies of their books to men.

In Pakistan’s Swat Valley, women stay home for fear of being killed by the Taliban.

In Jordan, men are still protected by law from harsh punishments for “honor” killings of their wives or female relatives.

In Iran, women can still be whipped and stoned for not covering up with a hijab. Or stoned to death for adultery.

In Malaysia, clerics issue fatwas banning yoga.

In Gaza, besides using women as human shields, Hamas has been recruiting them for suicide attacks on Israelis.

In LaLa Land, a few truckloads of female fools, including Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin, were finally let through the Gaza border by Egypt to support—of course—the Palestinians. There were no Code Pink marches in support of women in Islamic countries facing discrimination and death for being women.

“I’m asking for your help. I would like to meet an Israeli woman for marriage purposes,” Abdullah, a resident of Saudi Arabia, said in a recent letter to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.

“I have heard that the Israeli women are very smart and beautiful,” he added. “I’m ready to pay a dowry of camels, herds or even money. Please help me.”

Dozens of such appeals are received every year by the Foreign Ministry’s department for Arab media. Emails have been arriving from people in Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Yeah, I’m not getting it, either.

“The Israeli woman must have a remarkable image in the Arab world,” says Hino. “The Arab men reiterate in their letters that the Israeli women are beautiful and smart, but we politely answer all of them that with all due respect, the Foreign Ministry is not a matchmaking agency.”

Perhaps if the women in Arab countries were allowed to fulfill their potential the way Israeli women are, Arab men wouldn’t have to look farther than their own backyard to find smart, beautiful women. You can’t find them when you force them to wear a burka and don’t allow them to drive, work, or go to school.

Now, for at least six weeks, we have a troika of excellent SF shows. At 8:00 on Fox, there’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, followed by the new Joss Whedon Dollhouse show, and then at ten, on SciFi, the last six (now five) weeks of Battlestar Galactica. Last night, all three shows were superb. Awesomely awesome, as the saying is.

If you didn’t watch Dollhouse, catch it online. You will not be sorry. And next week, you should watch it or DVR it or tape it, because Fox was smart enough to have Summer Glau and Eliza Dushku in several commercials together, talking to each other about how much fun it would be to be each other’s character. Brilliant PR, both for the glamour aspect and the hot-chick-attracking-scifi-geek aspect. Plus, well, I like both actresses a lot. You go, girls.

One other thing about Friday nights on Fox: The lineup is all action chick shows. Oh, sure, there are more than enough guys to go around on both shows, and they’re featured characters, not minor ones. But the women are kicking butt and taking prisoners.

Awesomely awesome, now featuring strong female leads. What’s not to love?

BROWN BITS: As rumors keep flying about what caused Chris Brown to allegedly beat girlfriend Rihanna, the R&B star’s management team is hunkered down and desperately trying to stem the tide of Brown’s commercial endorsements — flowing away from anything connected to the entertainer. … Career control issues also are plaguing Rihanna, herself in seclusion to both heal from her injuries and figure out her next move.

Right. It was money problems, stress, and gee, the bitch was having problems, too.

Next, we have the infidelity argument, but I’m not sure why Brown’s infidelity should be an excuse for beating up his girlfriend. Then again, I’m not trying to excuse a spouse-beater.

• As earlier reported here, questions of Brown’s infidelity — cropping up in text messages — may have been the initial spark to the Saturday argument between the couple that led to Brown’s alleged assault on Rihanna.

• The leaking of Brown’s private Facebook page — where he pledges to reveal Rihanna’s ”true colors,” is also seen as evidence he may fight back in a court of public opinion, especially if the rumors about a sexually transmitted disease being an issue prove true.

Way to go, jackass. Blame Rihanna for bringing the beat-down on herself. Because after all, why would you want to blame the scumbag that hit his girlfriend?

You’ve come a long way, baby.

Apparently, no, you haven’t.