CNN新闻英语第 50 课：Muslim Women's Rights in Kuwait 面纱后的科威特妇女

ANCHOR 主播
The rights of women are the focus of intense debate in one of the most prosperous societies in the world. As Brent Sadler reports, caught between religious beliefs, and modern day social norms, some Kuwaiti women believe time is on their side. 妇女权利是这个世界上最富有的社会之一（科威特）激烈辩论的焦点。布伦特·赛德勒报道，那些受宗教信仰和现代社会规范矛盾困扰的科威特妇女相信，时间会站在她们一边。

REPORTER 记者
In Kuwait a dramatic contest of ideas. Between the past and the present, over the rights of women, inside a Muslim society with some startling contradictions. Between what women want and how they behave. It's a case of religious conservatism versus a more liberal interpretation of Islam, as you can clearly see inside this popular shopping mall where women browse through western-style boutiques and purchase designer labels. 在科威特，(关于妇女权利的)观念的争论相当激烈。从过去到现在，穆斯林社会对于妇女权利、妇女的需求和行为举止有惊人的对应看法。这是宗教的保守派同对穆斯林教义更自由的理解的对照。你清楚地看见在这家颇受欢迎的购物商场里，妇女们逛着西式精品屋，购买各种名牌服饰，

AN UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 女被访者
To me, the way I dress here is the same the way I dress in Europe, the States, wherever I am. 对于我来说，我在这里的穿着同在欧洲和美国一样。

REPORTER 记者
But while women in Kuwait can drive, work and hold senior government positions, society remains strictly conservative. Wedding parties separate men from women and public schools are segregated after kindergarten. Westerns are often criticized here for interpreting the rules in a bad light. 但是当科威特妇女能驾车、工作、担任政府要职的时候，科威特社会依然严格地保持保守风俗。婚礼中男女分开，公立学校自幼儿园之后实行男女分校。西方经常因为负面地解释这些习俗而备受指责。

AN UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 女被访者
But its not. Actually it's like more open than most countries around us. 但情况并非如此。实际上，它比我们周围的国家要开放得多。

REPORTER 记者
More open that is, than say Saudi Arabia. But still behind the times, says this Kuwaiti lawyer, because women can't vote or run for office in Kuwait. She's spent nearly 30 years campaigning for those rights. Aroor Al-Rifaee may dress differently from the lawyer, but she is no less committed to political reform for women. But all in good time she says, arguing that pressure from the West to move faster is a mistake. 更开放的意思是与沙特相比而言。但是仍然赶不上时代，这位科威特律师说，因为在科威特，妇女没有选举权，也不能竞选。她已经为这些权利争取了30多年。Aroor Al-Rifaee虽然穿戴同这位律师有所不同，但是她为妇女的政治改革不遗余力。但是所有事情都要等好的时机。她坚持说，来自西方的压力想加速其进程是一个错误。

AN UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 女被访者
This kind of pressure is too much. We don't want to get our political rights because America wants it. We think that we need it because it's time for it. 这种压力太多了。我们不会为了美国人而争取我们的政治权利。我们认为我们需要它是因为是时候了。

REPORTER 记者
An evolution, not revolution, say women here, that could one day give them the same political rights as men. 这儿的妇女们说， 总有一天，慢慢地演变，而不是大变革，将使妇女获得和男性同等的政治权利。