There are places in the world where being a woman...

It is early morning in Al-Hudaydah, a small city in the northwest of Yemen, and Aminah, my translator, is going about the awkward business of eating breakfast. We have come to a restaurant, our hotel dining room being somewhat unappetising in appearance, and this means, for starters, that we've been put in a special room, segregated, away from the eyes of male diners.

In fact, it's more of a corridor, a place at the back of the restaurant, where oil cans are stored, and great piles of vegetables kept in the cool. There are no windows - the only light is provided by the door through which we entered - and not much space: our table takes up all of that. It is dark and dank, and it makes me feel as though we are being punished rather than entertained. Aminah, I can tell, is in two minds about her veil. Should she raise it, so she can eat? Or should she leave it down, in case of passing males, and push her bread, beans and spring onions awkwardly behind it? Sometimes, I have noticed, waiters count as males, and sometimes they don't; they become conveniently invisible. This place, though, is wide open to the street, so waiters are the least of her worries. Eventually, she decides: the veil goes up, and she eats. Only now she is sitting at an odd angle, so that her face is carefully cast in shadow, like that of a spy or a fugitive. More...

See also: Al Muhamasheen, the Untouchables of Yemen..
And this: "Women Are Being Beheaded for Taking Their Veil Off"
And this: WTF! Malaysia plans to control single women travelling alone!!