Reply #84: See, I don't know if I agree

[Vladimir]

that the "advantages in women's equality" are "related to the underlying cultural beliefs". Otherwise, as I point out above, why does Bangladesh have a female PM (and no, it isn't a paradise for women - but its not some neaderthal cave either)? In Yugoslavia, there was probably much more sexism in the Serb, Croat and Montenegrin sections of the community than amongst Bosnian Muslims. If we look at the Muslim immigrant communities, for example in the UK, they are hardly more sexist than your average beer-gut-Cross-of-St.George-footie fan.

I think that where sexism exists, it exists entirely because it serves the interests of the ruling class of that particular country for it to exist, irrespective of culture. And all too often, its used to give a section of the community (men) a semblance of power to hide the poverty and exploitation that they are mired in. Of course an ideology is always used to enforce the sexism, but that does not mean that the ideology or culture is the cause of the sexism.

Its not my aim to apologise for anyone's biogtry, nor to claim that women in Saudi Arabia have it good. But neither do I think its productive to talk about cultures. We should be talking, if you forgive my predictability, about class.