Most Saudi lawyers consider the ruling to be outrageous.
anyway come across this artcile
Why the focus on women? Looking
at the issue from a cultural perspective, this focus is not
surprising. In nearly every culture of the world, womens sexual
morality appears to be a particularly favorite subject for slander,
gossip, and insult.26 The tendency of patriarchal societies, in
fact, is to view a womans chastity as central to the honor of her
family, especially of the men in her family. For example, under the
British common law (the law in Pakistan before the Hudood
Ordinance), rape was a crime punishable against men, to be lodged
by the husband of the woman raped against the man who violated her
(Hale 1778, 637-39).27 The womans place was apparently on the
sidelines of a prosecution by her husband against her rapist.
This cultural phenomenon that a familys honor lies in the virtue
of its womenexists in many countries today; Pakistan is one of
them. Studies indicate that in Pakistan, when women are jailed for
long periods of time on charges of zina, their families and friends
are reluctant to help or even visit them, "as accusation of zina is
a serious dishonor" (Patel 1991, 27). Even more disturbing, suicide
is perceived as the honorable solution to the humiliation,
especially sexual violation is involved. For example, when
Khursheed Begum was raped in 1992,28 her husband and son "wish[ed]
she had committed suicide," even after human rights activists
explained to them that the rape was not her fault (Scroggins 1992,
A10). This attitude lends itself easily to manipulation and the
development of a tribal attitude where womens bodies become tools
for revenge by men against men. Indeed, increasingly in Pakistan,
"[i]n cases of revenge against the male members of [a] family,
instances have come to light where their women are violated" (Patel
1991, 36).29 Even within a family, physically harming (even
killing) women for alleged infidelity or some other embarrassment
to the family-often by some sort of burningis an unfortunate
tradition in the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent.30 And, as world human
rights organizations have documented, "honor killings" of women
suspected of sexual indiscretion, carried out by a male family
member, are unfortunately not limited to this part of the
world.31
http://www.crescentlife.com/articles/social%20issues/rape_laws.htm[/i]