hand shaking between men and women

Among South Asian Muslims, it is unusual to see men shaking hands with women. Most women do not feel comfortable shaking hands with men. The general rule for men is, wait to see if the lady extends her hand. If not, greet her without shaking her hand. Women in public positions are especially keen not to shake hands in public view because that might infuriate the more conservative section in society.

So I was surprised to see, on a number of occasions, men shaking hands with women here in Saudi Arabia. May be, I thought, the men are mahram--fathers, brothers, sons, grandsons etc.

I was even more surprised to see the picture published in The Arab News in its 22 April 2009 edition. The picture shows King Abdullah of KSA shaking hands with the visiting Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, who is not wearing an abaya, the black dress every woman here has to wear in the presence non-mahram men. Mullahs in Bangladesh, if they ever see this picture, would be in a fix. They would feel the urge to lambast the PM for touching a man who is not related to her. But criticising her would mean indirectly criticising the man in question, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and the leader of a country that strictly adheres to Islamic principles.

I'm sure they will ultimately find out a way to skirt the issue. May be they would discover a genealogical link between Hasina and King Abdullah. Hasina, after all, she has the title 'Sheikh' dangling in front of her name. Now wait till she shakes hands with Manamohan Singh or Barack Obama.

Photo credit: SPA, Arab News