Not sure about Iran (that lovely place where they stone women for adultery, hang homosexuals and women can't go to football stadiums and are segregated on buses), but here's an insight into how things are in Egypt:
http://www.taoofdefiance.com/2006/11/01/egypt-five-hours-of-mass-sexual-assault-by-mob-while-police-stand-by/

Thats Egypt where 89% of people answered in affirmation of the statement "Religion is very important to me in my daily life." in a recent poll, compared to Australia's 41%.
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItem&itemID=13764

Rape is about power, not uncontrollable sexual desire.

My message to the youth of Australia: F##k like crazy, we need the babies.

As for rape as a weapon of Jihad, well, there are Hadiths that state that women taken during Jihad can be subjugated into sexual slavery. Islamist propogandists are not shy about using that as a selling point. The Arab Jihadists in Darfur rape the black women while Arab women stand by and sing songs of encouragement and thank Allah. Or read about what the Jihadists did in Bosnia, Algeria, Chechnya.
About Darfur:
http://www.taoofdefiance.com/2006/09/28/charles-moore-this-is-why-there-is-slaughter-in-darfur/
"While African women in Darfur were being raped by the Janjaweed militiamen, Arab women stood nearby and sang for joy, according to an Amnesty International report published yesterday. The songs of the Hakama, or the “Janjaweed women” as the refugees call them, encouraged the atrocities committed by the militiamen.

The women singers stirred up racial hatred against black civilians during attacks on villages in Darfur and celebrated the humiliation of their enemies, the human rights group said.
[..]
The Janjaweed have abducted women for use as sex slaves, in some cases breaking their limbs to prevent them escaping, as well as carrying out rapes in their home villages, the report said.

The militiamen “are happy when they rape. They sing when they rape and they tell that we are just slaves and that they can do with us how they wish”, a 37-year-old victim, identified as A, is quoted as saying in the report, which was based onmore than 100 testimonies from women in the refugee camps in neighbouring Chad."
(from The Guardian)

So you bet rape is a weapon of Jihad. Islamists believe Allah wishes it so.

The sight of uncovered Western women makes the Jihadists so mad the Taliban uses videos of Western women in bikinis to recruit suicide bombers. Whose fault is it, the uncovered meat's or the psychopath blowing himself trying to kill as many people as possible? Perhaps the suicide bomber also has a point.

I'm with Boaz on this one. Well, some of the way...

Why is it necessary for women to spend many times more hours, days, weeks and years than men, on their appearance?

I'm not denying in any way the individual's right to do so. I am simply asking the question, why do women in general, as a gender, feel it necessary?

It isn't just the miniskirt, or the decolletage.

It is the lipstick, lipliner, lipgloss. Who on earth told them that putting bright sticky colours on their lips enhanced their appearance?

It is the eyeshadow, mascara, lash lengtheners and thickeners. Where did they gain the impression that painting the surrounding parts of their eyes green, blue, brown, pink or grey makes them look more attractive?

And perfume. Hairspray. Hair dye. Hair mousse. Hair sculpting gel. Depilatories. Hand cream. Face cream. Body lotion. Moisturisers. Salt scrubs.

I am aware that the entire western economy would collapse without these female image-enhancers. But what is the psychology behind them?

What drives it? Is it a personal thing, a tribal thing, a desire to be different or a desire to be the same?

Anyone?

Is this another version of the bloated toad theory, or an example of that particular creature, spinadickatus?

the bloated toad theory: that men will swell up like a toad and explode if they don't have sex.
spinadickatus: men are nothing more than a brain, a spine and a dick.

Perhaps we should be asking, what is wrong with men? Why do men rape? Why do men believe that women are there for their use? Why are so many men raised with no respect for the other? Why are men so violent? Why do men hurt and abuse women and then claim provocation as an excuse?

Why is the sexual drive used as a cover for violence?

There is something terribly wrong in the hearts of men, and until this is addressed, women will live in fear and articles such as this will masquerade as logic.

Pericles

Have you read nothing about the biology of sexual arousal?

The face and body of the human species show certain signs of sexual arousal, and therefore availability.

These signs include a reddening of the lips and a dilation of the pupils, hence the idea that red lipstick is sexy, and the idea of candlelight as romantic because, put simply, when you are in poor light your pupils dilate, as do those of your partner, producing an imitation of sexual arousal. All that eye make up is designed to emphasise the eyes and their sexual importance.

Men find the effects of cold weather on females' nipples to be interesting, because of the simulation (not stimulation) that this effect has in regard to arousal.

High heels, apart from damaging a woman's feet, cause the legs to look longer, (therefore presenting the idea that a woman has good DNA for reproduction and motherhood) and the pelvis to be thrust forward in an imitation of sexual presentation.

None of these, however, is an invitation for unwanted sexual advances.

Jared Diamond talks, in his 'Why is Sex Fun' book about the human species being strange in that it is the only species that advertises itself as being available for sex when reproduction is not possible (bonoboes are one other species that use sex in this way, however).

There is a lot of 'advertising' going on out there, but hopefully we are at the stage of development where we can recognise most of this as just being for show, and not preparation for action.

And this advertising is not for men anyway - it is for a woman's own ego, not to actually attract anyone.

Hamlet I think you have a point about women competing rather than attracting men. You wonder if the girl in father Dave's story is trying make blokes think about their abseiling ropes or make other girls green with envy. Being a bloke I am not well qualified to answer. Also it would be a bit of a generalisation but I do think it is a good point.

As for men already having a uniform, I visited China in the early 80s and everyone wore a Mao style suit. It was still very easy to pick the workers from the party bosses by their haircuts and wool vs linen suits.