I would never wish it upon anyone...

...and it is too bad that a young woman is dead, presumably drowned in the sea. But perhaps some of the blame for this young woman's death can be put directly on the shoulders of those who force women in this country to wear a full body covering before they are allowed to leave their homes and venture out in public. It is highly doubtful that the 18-year-old, Fatima, was not wearing her abeya and head scarf - and perhaps even the full face veil. Articles of clothing which certainly are not conducive to the sport of swimming. Who knows if she even knew how to swim?

I have seen girls in our community pools wearing what looks to be like sweatsuits - fully clothed, in the water. Next time you pull a sweatshirt out of the washer think about how heavy it is when it is wet - and not soaking wet since the washer goes through a spin cycle before you put the clean clothes in the dryer. Imagine wearing a sweatshirt to swim in - and imagine wearing the sweat pants, too. What it is is downright dangerous - to try to swim in such heavy clothing.

It would not be too far fetched to think that the young woman who drowned last week was weighed down before she could even realize what was happening if she was covered in meters of black fabric. There are some very lightweight abeyas out there, but there are also some very heavy, double-knit polyester ones, as well. Put a head covering on, along with the abeya - and a veil - and just try swimming. It would be close to impossible.

Fatima's family is rightfully upset. Mourning their loss... Did the young woman not know that there was no swimming allowed in the area they were at? It doesn't matter. Truly an unfortunate accident that might have been prevented if she hadn't fallen in the water wearing a mass of black material.