Decision time

Some news from Egypt. Who says women in the Arab world don't have a choice?(Cue the sarcastic laughter.)

Linked to- DragonLady, High Desert Wanderer, Outside the Beltway, Samantha Burns,

A young bedouin in Egypt's Sinai peninsula has been sentenced to have his tongue cut out or hand over more camels after he made "naughty" remarks to a shepherdess, local media reported on Tuesday.

A tent-based tribal court in the desert region sentenced the unnamed man to pay 40 camels compensation to the woman as well as either have his tongue cut out or cough up another five camels, the Egyptian Gazette said.

It is now up to the woman, who hails from a different tribe, whether she would rather have the amputated tongue or additional camel.

The accused was not allowed to speak during the trial, the paper reported, adding that tribal justice "has helped keep the peace and maintain stability among the tribes of the desert for generations."