I really don´t see the point to your reasoning about certain people being excluded from fasting.  At the time the Quran was written, menstruating was a messy and dirty thing - like it or not!  You might find it offensive that it is still considered to be so in modern times, but the fact is it really doesn´t affect you personally, or me.  If you have even just a cold you are excluded from fasting - is that discrimination too?

....finally MANY women have terrible pains during their period, feel sick and lightheaded.  It is a fact that every month many women even have to take time off work because of it.  I am quite certain that if they were FORCED to fast during this time, you would be complaining that they were being treated unfairly!!!

 And MANY women do NOT have terrible pains, do not feel sick or lightheaded, they do NOT take time off each month. Still, a menstruating woman who WANTS to fast herself is not allowed, or, she is allowed but her days don´t count as she is seen as dirty! 

 Perhaps it would be good to get the views of other Muslim women.

+10000

I would second to that..

Obviously, once you look at everything from shagging point of view, a woman who pretends that she respects the backwardness might increase the chance  getting of laid as there are many backwards men around. (And of course same thing applies to Turkish nationalism)

It would make the chance much  broader as it were..

But of course if you look at the events from that angle..

The problem is that because of what they thought they new in the 7th century about how babies are born and teh whole menstruation process is the basis of the situation of women in islam today. They use these ridiculous things like PMS to rationalize that women are weak, should be excluded from the center of decision making (the mosque) because they are "not clean" (as if they never heard of tampons and can´t take care of themselves! ), this also justifies in their minds that the man should be the decision maker in the family... etc... This is the real problem with the big deal they make about menstruation.

 As I said previously, the Quran was written in a time where women WERE dirty during this time.  If people follow the words in the Quran exactly then that is why they are excluded.   I understand it is more about the health and wellbeing of those fasting rather than any kind of exclusion.  However, again I have to question why you are so concerned.  You are one one hand saying that you disagree with fasting and now you are complaining that certain people are excluded from fasting.  The muslim women who have posted here are not complaining, and it is THEY who are affected. 

If your problem is with Islam as a whole then that is a different issue.  I have problems with ALL religions for many different reasons and have made that quite clear in the past, but as long as people CHOOSE to follow that religion then it´s their own concern, not ours.  If people are quite happy in their lives then that is all that matters.  When people become oppressed or victimised because of their religion it becomes a problem.  This works BOTH ways - all I see from you is victimisation.

 It is a bit "rich westerner" to assume that every woman in the world has access to tampons or the spare cash to purchase them!!!

that was not the point AE!! tampons are only one way to stay clean, as women managed to take care of themselves all along. it does however challenge the whole basis of "women are dirty" thinking!!

Well 

As I said, it is nothing to do with god or anything..

Mensturating women are seen as dirty in judaism and islam did not hesitate to copy it..

It is what it is..

Say that it is religion or not religion or say that it is people applying quran in a wrong way..

The fact is that "mensturating women  are  seen as dirty"..

It is unbelievable that any balanced women who would say that ´ah.. dont interfere..if they want to see themselves as dirty,  let them see themselves as dirty´ !!!

Sad really..

As the discussion WAS about "shagging" then I fail to see your point.  The discussion about having sex during your period has led you to this assumption about me?   If you wish to start some more name calling, then I think you are so obsessed with the "chance of getting laid" that you taint everything you read which (as a married man with children) is so typically backward and chauvanistic that you may count yourself amongst those men you mention.