A few months ago, the municipality of Amsterdam announced that it will implement a gender-neutral communication policy, swapping 'ladies and gentlemen' in speeches and 'dear sir/madam' in letters to 'best attendees', or 'dear resident'.

21st November, the UK’s Channel 4 aired a documentary entitled, “The Truth About Muslim Marriage” in which it sought to undermine the Islamic Nikah contract by arguing that it does not protect the rights of Muslim women in marriage and that Muslims should be obliged to have a civil marriage recognized under British law in order to ensure that the marital rights of women were safeguarded by the British legal…

When we are brought up in the West and attend the school systems in these countries, we are introduced from a young age to the concepts of respect and tolerance. We are taught that these concepts lie at the basis of Western societies and that citizens living in these societies should uphold these high values.

The man who may soon be king of Saudi Arabia is charting a new, more modern course for a country so conservative that for decades there were no concerts or film screenings and women who attempted to drive were arrested.