The real war on women -- in IKEA catalogues?

Swedish furniture giant IKEA prints its product catalogs in 27 languages and mails 198 million copies to 38 different countries. But not all copies of the catalog are identical due to... uh, cultural sensitivities.

In Saudi Arabia, for example, women have been almost completely purged from the pages -- a "sad example" of continuing oppression of women in the Middle East:

Women's rights in Saudi Arabia are defined by Islam and tribal customs. Human Rights Watch said in a report that the Saudi guardianship system continues to treat women as minors. Under this discriminatory system, girls and women of all ages are forbidden from traveling, studying, or working without permission from their male guardians.

Ikea has declined to comment.

Now you see her...

Now you don't...

The Swedish Wire has more here.