More apalling news from our “allies” in Saudi Arabia:

A Saudi woman who was kidnapped at knifepoint, gang-raped and then beaten by her brother has been sentenced to 90 lashes — for meeting a man who was not a relative.

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After driving off together from a shopping mall near her home, the woman and the man were stopped and abducted by a gang of men wielding kitchen knives who took them to a farm where she was raped 14 times by her captors.

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“G” said one of the judges told she was lucky not to have been given jail time. “I was shocked at the verdict. I couldn’t believe my ears,” said the woman, who has appealed against her sentence.

The woman also told the paper she tried to commit suicide because of her ordeal and was beaten by her younger brother because the rape had brought shame on their family.

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There are severe legal restrictions on women in Saudi Arabia, including a strict dress code required outside the home and a ban on driving.

In the 1980s, scores of activists and celebrities spoke out quite publicly against the racial aparthied system in South Africa. But today, an apartheid of gender exists throughout much of the Middle East, and these activists are largely silent.

The only explanation I can think of is that it requires real courage to stand up for human rights in the Middle East.

Lots of people are willing to speak out when there’s no risk. But when standing up for the rights of women in the Middle East can get you killed in the middle of a Western city, the brave activists start scurrying for cover.

Where are the feminists when you need them?