Community: Real Life

Segregated Saudi


Naomi

Naomi Prior, 23, is studying Arabic in Yemen for 12 to 18 months. Here, she tells us what life is like for an English woman in the intriguing Middle Eastern country.
Entry: 5
Date: 19/04/2007

In Naomi's second instalment from her recent trip to Saudi, she is amazed at the number of times she's separated into a different place for being a woman.

Riyadh at night

Riyadh at night

Despite endless department stores which might suggest a charmed life for some women, clearly life for many women in Saudi Arabia is very tough on a variety of levels. Life is so segregated in a way I've never seen anywhere else but not in a way that's equal to men and women. Take the women-only floors in the shopping malls. I was told that the products are more expensive than on the male floors because "the stores have to pay for the security guards to ensure men are kept out".

I saw signs for 'ladies' banks', yet this is a country where women are barred from most forms of employment to earn any income to deposit into a bank. Basically, the only profession open to women is teaching. Within such limited employment, women's rights are minimal too. I heard tales of maternity leave being capped at 40 days. Producing large families remains the nationally preferred employment for women. Women can't drive either, although some women have bravely come out to protest this recently.

Strong stereotypes and attitudes towards women were not only confined to Saudi women. It was the swimming pool that nearly pushed me to the limit. There was a women-only gym. I was expecting that, but I wasn't expecting to have no access to the pool whatsoever, at any time. And this wasn't in some Saudi hotel, but the Marriott, an international hotel. I felt it was cowardly that the hotel guide made no reference to this ban on women, so I deliberately went and asked the male receptionist when I could use the pool. He hung his head down in embarrassment and muttered: "You can't"

"Basically, the only profession open to women is teaching. I heard tales of maternity leave being capped at 40 days."

"At any time?"

"Not at any time."

My insights weren't confined to the inside - looking at Riyadh outside was equally revealing. I never expected Riyadh to be so big (some three million people) or so busy. The cars never stopped going, all day, all night. And they were big cars. Everything was big and flashy - the hotels, the malls, the wide boulevards. The 99-floor Kingdom Tower was the best example of all this. The views at night made me feel like I was in a sci-fi city.

I'd previously heard people talk about the US influence on Saudi and I could see it - MacDonalds and Pizza Hut everywhere; wide roads; huge petrol-guzzling cars. I couldn't help but judge cynically that the US probably had a climate change-sceptic ally in oil-rich Saudi. Nobody really walked anywhere, all hidden away in their cars. However I was pleasantly surprised to see lots of families out in the early evening, often pushing their children in pushchairs, in a public square we visited in the older area, Dira.


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