UN to Saudis: Leave the Paleolithic Era Behind You

Good luck with this project, folks. Heck, the ladies can't even get a red rose on Valentine's Day, so how on earth are these cavemen going to start granting rights to women?

Although the UN is only a few decades late, at least they're finally paying lip service to this issue.

Saudi Arabia must create laws to protect women from violence and also allow them to play a bigger role in society and the workplace, the United Nations said on Thursday.

"The lack of written laws governing private life constitutes a major obstacle to women's access to justice," said Yakin Erturk, the U.N.'s human rights expert on violence against women.

In a statement she called on Saudi Arabia to create a legal framework based on international human rights standards, including a law criminalizing violence against women.

That would also include a family law on marriage, divorce and minimum age for marriage, said the Turkish sociology professor at the end of a 10-day visit to Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally and the world's top oil exporter.

"The need to address women's rights will grow increasingly urgent as the voices of women in Saudi society are heard," she said.

The treatment of women has become an increasing embarrassment for Saudi Arabia. The country drew international criticism after its Supreme Judicial Council condemned a 19-year-old woman to 200 lashes and six months in jail for having been with a man she was not related to when she was attacked and raped by seven other men in 2006.

King Abdullah pardoned the gang-rape victim in December.

Erturk said Saudi Arabia's system of male guardianship for women limits women's freedom of movement and ability to act in a whole range of family and social areas, from marriage, divorce and child custody to inheritance, education and employment.

Of course, the oil ticks will probably tell the UN to mind their own business, then go home and beat their wives tonight.