Women in the Arab and Muslim world are treated like "furniture" and the situation requires a "feminine revolution", said Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, ANSA news agency reported on Friday.
"Women are like a piece of furniture you can change when you want and nobody will ever question why you did so," Gaddafi told an audience of women who included leading figures from the world of culture, politics and the economy. "The world needs a feminine revolution based on a cultural revolution," he added, without elaborating.
Gaddafi, on the third and final day of a visit to Italy, evoked great women in Italian history, from the writer Matilde Serao to actress Claudia Cardinale. At the end of the speech many women surrounded the Libyan leader asking for an autograph, but others were left puzzled. Italy's Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo told the ANSA news agency she found the speech "contradictory" though she appreciated some of the statements.
In a further embarrassment later on Friday, the head of the lower chamber of Parliament cancelled an event with Gaddafi because the leader was running more than two hours late. Long delays have been a constant of Gaddafi's trip. |