Tigeress, I took AkIron's responce there as a rather Monty-Python like humour, and I'm pretty sure that's what it was supposed to be.
(Hell, with my dark humour, I could have topped that

)
Anyway, while I thought it was funny, the fact remains that the whole deal is very very sad. And you may have this norm much further than the muslim states, - I was baffled when I got to know some norms in old E-Europe for instance.
I once worked in a factory (in Iceland) and there was this jealous Polish guy who had the habid of slapping his wife about if he thought that suited. He did the mistake of having a go while tending a party full of Icelanders. After 2 attempts, he was kicked out with a blue eye, and the wife partied on all night. Different cultures I guess.
I was also baffled at men's behaviure in the old countries of S-Europe. Got to know some Romanians, and was shocked about their attitude.