How do women live in Saudi Arabia? Unusual women of Saudi Arabia Women's rights in Saudi Arabia and the UAE

IN Saudi Arabia We found ourselves almost by accident. Husband worked at international company, and at a banquet after one conference, one of the regional managers approached him and asked if my husband would like to work in another country. For example, in Saudi Arabia. The husband was in a good mood, and he said that visiting Saudi Arabia was his long-time dream.

The next morning, this idea no longer seemed so tempting, but it was too late to refuse.

Before the trip, I began to surf the Internet in search of information about this country. Five years ago, it was almost impossible to find anything other than horror stories. And not only on the Internet: having already arrived in the country, I met a friend from Scotland - at that time he had already been in Riyadh for eight years and in my eyes was a mega-expert on life in Saudi Arabia. He began to tell me how dangerous it was here, that I couldn’t go anywhere without my husband. I believed him, but soon realized that all these horrors existed only in the imagination of our friend. Everything turned out to be much simpler. Yes, of course, there are specifics, but nothing terrible or particularly difficult awaited us.

Many foreigners have this perception of Saudi Arabia.

They come here expecting horrors, then live in gated communities and commute along the “home-to-work” route.

As a result, they don’t even have the opportunity to find out whether everything they read is true or not: they don’t go anywhere, don’t see the country and don’t communicate with the locals.

The only thing that was truly unexpected for me was that they wouldn’t talk to me everywhere. I was used to solving all my problems myself, but here I had to constantly involve my husband and ask him for help in the simplest everyday issues.

It was funny that the salespeople in the store did not answer my question if my husband was nearby. They will only talk to him, even if I asked the question. This is due to the fact that it is not customary for them to talk to a stranger and look at her. If I come alone, they communicate with me without looking me in the eyes. Staring at a woman is a sign of extreme disrespect. This is about the same as if someone grabs you by the butt on a Moscow street, and they joyfully tell everyone about it.

If an accident occurs, but the cars suffer minor damage, then drivers may not even stop, let alone call the police.

The only entertainment here is shopping and restaurants. There are a lot of shops, and they are all simply huge. The selection of goods is gigantic. Several times a year there are discounts, and quite large ones. A huge number of goods can be purchased 70–90% cheaper. Although, of course, there are some peculiarities. Many stores import old collections that no one buys in Europe anymore.

There are also a lot of restaurants, for a wide variety of tastes. But almost all of them, even the most expensive ones, do not reach the level of luxury European ones. It is very common for locals to order food at home. Every restaurant or even the smallest eatery offers delivery services.

The restaurants have separate areas for families, women and single men.

They treat Russians completely normally. Honestly speaking, for all the years lived in the most different countries ah, we have not encountered open hostility. Only once, at a barbecue in Riyadh, Syrians approached my husband and began to explain that he was to blame for the death of their compatriots.

We were lucky with the people we met here. For example, one of my husband’s colleagues turned out to be an absolutely wonderful person. He took great pleasure in immersing us in Saudi reality, helping us adapt, showing us interesting places, and introducing us to the local culture. Among our acquaintances were people from different countries, and this made it possible to constantly learn something new. I didn’t regret at all that we once decided to go to Saudia. Yes, we will not stay here for many years, despite all the financial benefits, but we will take away only pleasant memories from here.

Ksenia Ivanova

Judging by the reports of human rights activists, life is not sweet for them. The country ranks 130th out of 134 countries in terms of violation of women's rights. In fact, everything is not so scary and many women like this life. The position of a woman in Saudi Arabia can be compared to the position of a child in European society. Yes, you cannot vote, a woman does not have the right to study/work/travel abroad unless her husband or relative gives her permission, but in many matters life is simpler. Let's see if it's possible to live with such restrictions...

For example, women should not drive a car. By the way, Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where this restriction applies. It is impossible for many reasons, primarily for religious reasons - it’s not a woman’s thing to turn the steering wheel. Professor Kamal Subhi claims that if women are allowed to drive cars in the country, there will be no virgins left in ten years. Another influential Sheikh, Saleh Lohaidan, said that if a woman drives a car, she may give birth to a child with birth defects.

For many years, women have been fighting for the right to drive, but so far to no avail. Although there is no formal ban on driving, it is impossible for a woman to get a driver’s license here. Many women drive without a license, especially in rural areas. Officially, there are no penalties for driving for women. The maximum that a police officer can do is call her parents or return the offender home to her husband.

On the other hand, if men do not allow women to drive, they must provide her with a driver or taxi. This often takes a lot of money, and in order to save money, the men themselves demand that the king allow women to drive. A lot happens to taxi drivers too. funny stories. For example, a taxi driver is actually a “strange man” with whom a woman should not communicate. How to go? It reaches the point of idiocy.

In 2010, the adviser to the royal court and the Ministry of Justice issued a fatwa according to which a woman is obliged to breastfeed the driver who works for her so that he becomes a mahram (relative) for the woman. This way the driver will be able to communicate with the woman without violating the laws.

The king smiles and says that he is for equal rights, but society is not ready yet:

“I strongly believe in women's rights. My mother is a woman. My sister is a woman. My daughter is a woman. My wife is a woman. I believe the day will come when women will start driving. In fact, if you look around the countryside, you will find a woman driving. I believe that this will be possible in due time and I believe that patience is a virtue."

But there is also good news. This year, for example, Saudi women were allowed to ride bicycles, but only in parks.

Women in Saudi Arabia rarely work. Many professions are closed to them, for example, those where she can or must communicate with unfamiliar men. But gradually the situation is improving. This year, Saudi Arabia allowed women to work as lawyers. At one time they wanted to build a separate women's district here, where women could work freely.

Due to restrictions on leisure time, and in Saudi Arabia there are no theaters or cinemas, the only entertainment for a woman is shopping. Women often cannot receive a full education because they get married early. They don’t know anything, they haven’t really studied, they’re only interested in clothes. This leads to the fact that Saudi men themselves prefer the company of foreign women; at least they can talk about something with them.

The most unpleasant restrictions in clothing. Women are required to wear black abayas, or as they joke here, raincoats.

It is highly not recommended to walk with your head uncovered. The local police will definitely reprimand you. Many women cover their entire face, leaving only their eyes. This is not required, but many do it voluntarily. That's how it is. Anyone who wants can easily walk like this:

Saudi men also almost 100% wear white long shirts and nothing. In general, I think it’s quite convenient; you don’t have to think about what to wear. I put on my robe and that was it.

By the way, wild things have happened before. In 2002, a fire broke out at a girls' school in Mecca, killing 15 students. Moreover, the girls burned only because they were driven back into the fire when they tried to escape. The girls were dressed inappropriately. However, the religious police in Mecca were on alert.

Witnesses of the fire said then that the police even beat schoolgirls because they did not want to go back for decent clothes. 8 years passed and in 2010, the good King Abdullah mercifully allowed firefighters to rescue “undressed” women from the fire according to Islamic rules.

All of Saudi Arabia is divided into two parts - male and female. The women's part is delicately called "family". Every restaurant has a section for men and a section for families.

Often the restaurant even has separate entrances for men and women. The section for men is small, there are usually only a few tables and separate cash registers. On the other side is the entrance to the family section, which is usually large.

In restaurants, these tables are closed with curtains - there women can open their faces to eat. In many stores, FAMILY ONLY means only women can enter, because “stranger” women who cannot be seen by a man may enter there.

Many parks only allow women or families, and most supermarket checkout counters do not serve single men. Some stores have entire floors where men are not allowed. Hotels also often have separate women's floors, where men are not allowed.

Sometimes students of two sexes study at different times so as not to overlap. It is clear that in public transport there is also a strict division. Even on an airplane, if a man is given a seat next to an unfamiliar woman, the man will be seated, not the woman. It turns out to be a paradoxical thing: for a man there are more restrictions in social life than for a woman. In general, a single man in Saudi Arabia has a hard time - half of the places are closed to him.

It is almost impossible for a single man to rent a house. When a friend of mine lived in Riyadh, his realtor went around to his neighbors and asked if they were okay with a bachelor living nearby. Everyone was against it. He looked for an apartment for 4 months and found it - on the back side of some wretched villa. There is a separate entrance, you almost had to crawl under a fence to enter the house.

Previously, it was almost impossible for women to travel and move around unaccompanied. Today they walk freely without men accompanying them. Recently, women were even allowed to travel abroad unaccompanied. But you need your husband's permission.

You are probably wondering how young people get to know each other here if everything is so strictly separated? Either the old-fashioned way, through relatives, through sisters, or by phone. There is a very popular app in Saudi Arabia right now called “Who Is There?” This application searches for people within a radius of several kilometers and they chat, send each other photos without fawning and get to know each other. Unfortunately, things weren't so simple in the beginning.

In 2007, her father killed a young girl when he learned that she had been communicating with a young man on Facebook. The case received wide resonance and publicity in the media. Conservatives have called on the government to ban Facebook because they say the network incites lust and causes social strife by encouraging sexual mixing.

The greatest shame for a woman is the arrest of the religious police as a result of contact with a non-Mahram man (not a relative). So in 2009, two young girls, after being arrested as a result of communicating with men, were publicly shot by their brothers in the presence of their father.

That same year, a 23-year-old unmarried woman was sentenced to one year in prison and 100 lashes for “adultery” because she had been the victim of rape and had unsuccessfully attempted to obtain an abortion. The spanking was postponed until after the birth. But such cases are happening less and less.

Hello, site readers! I want to tell you about the way of life in Saudi Arabia and especially about the life of women in this country.

Everyone known fact that in Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, women's rights are very limited. Let's start with the main thing.

Women's rights in Saudi Arabia

Every adult woman, for example, should have close relative male as her “guardian” - this could be her husband or father, or, in the absence of the latter, the closest male relative. Without his permission, a woman is prohibited from leaving the country, getting a job, getting an education and even medical care, but read more about this below.

Entry and exit from the country

In order to leave the country for any reason or simply leave for a while, a Saudi woman needs to obtain a visa, and, of course, permission from her husband or father - a yellow card, yellow slip. The procedure for obtaining a visa is the same for all types of population (expats, Saudis, guest workers). However, unless you are an employee of a foreign firm or a senior Saudi official, this may take some time (usually a week). There is no way to urgently fly out of the country, even for a very good reason (your relatives died abroad or something very important and urgent happened).

Only if you have a multiple visa, which costs more than a regular visa (about 100 euros for six months), you have the right to leave and enter the country at any time during its validity. Otherwise, you are a prisoner of the country and subject to its unforgiving system.

[By the way, regarding obtaining permission from a guardian to leave the country. Since November 2012, the CA authorities have introduced an automatic system for sending SMS alerts about women who cross the border. When a woman enters her passport details at the border, the computer system automatically sends a message to her husband. The notice is sent even if the husband is traveling with his wife. Here's the story. Note website editors website]

A woman of another nationality is allowed to enter the country only if she is officially married to a resident of that country. For other reasons, even being the bride or girlfriend of an Arab man, a woman will never get into the country. But you also need to obtain a marriage license from the government, read more about this in.

You can get a work visa, but even for a highly qualified female specialist this is a very difficult task. There will always be a man who is more suitable for the position, this is a pattern in Arab countries. In principle, there are no irreplaceable female employees here as a category. The range of women's specialties that can enter the country on a work visa without having an official husband in it is very narrow and includes only employees of the embassy, ​​the Red Cross, the medical and educational sectors.

Even if a foreigner lives in the country for a long time and holds a decent position in a company, he is not allowed to invite his girlfriend to stay even for a few days if they are not legally married.

Job

Women in Saudi Arabia received the official right to work just a few years ago. And even then, this right consists only of performing labor activities exclusively in a female team and provided that the woman is allowed to work by her guardian. This also applies to foreign women staying in the country. And since there are a very limited number of such jobs, even in the capital you can’t really work.

[There are still some shifts in this direction; the current monarch, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, is beginning to pursue some kind of reformist policy regarding women’s rights in the country. After all, even the same morality police need female employees, so there are already rumors that soon women will be recruited to serve in the police.

Or it is worth noting that in the summer of 2012, women athletes were allowed to participate in the London Olympics for the first time, and since October 2012, women in Saudi Arabia were allowed to work as lawyers.

Women are also prohibited from participating in elections and holding government positions; only in 2009, for the first time, the king granted a high government post - the post of Deputy Minister of Education for Girls' Affairs - to a woman. Note site site ]

Education

The situation is the same with regard to education in the country. No matter what educational institution a woman decides to attend, be it a university or even a high school, she can only obtain an education with the permission of the men in her family. As for the universities themselves, they are divided into women's and men's, even for foreigners.

Here you will not see people of different sexes sitting at the same desk - only women can be in the class, as well as in the building itself. The subjects are also taught exclusively by women.

[The only university with coeducational education for boys and girls has been operating since 2009 near Jeddah; it was opened under the patronage of the king. Note site editors]

The school curriculum, by the way, does not include physical education classes for girls. And all 153 official SA sports clubs are also closed to women. The only exception is the Jeddah United women's basketball section, which is owned by a private company and is not listed as an official sports club.

Auto, transport

An Arab girl does not have the right to drive, just like a foreigner who is within the country.

A woman can use public transport services, that is, a taxi, while only sitting in the back seat. That is, only two women can sit in a car, and a woman is strictly prohibited from being in a car with a man who is stranger to her, unless he is her husband or a close relative. Such a violation is punishable by law, and if you are suddenly stopped for an identity check, you may well end up in jail for several days, just like your driver. This law applies to absolutely all residents of the country and visiting tourists.

It is recommended to use only legally registered taxi services, otherwise a girl, especially a European, may end up in a very unpleasant situation or even disappear altogether, and there are many such cases known. It’s better not to take risks with such things and moderate your independence.

Due to such precautions, there is no public transport here at all as such (after all, men and women will intersect), with the rare exception of special women's buses, which can only run in a separate compound, and even then only on a schedule.

That is, the only way for a woman to get to her destination, be it an educational institution, a place of work or an ordinary shopping center, is a personal driver represented by a close relative or, oddly enough, an employee. However, such a service is very inconvenient, and not everyone can afford it, which is another hindering factor for a Saudi woman to get an education or engage in work outside the home.

Of course, every Saudi woman would like to use a separate door for public transport, as, for example, women in Iran do, but such a luxury is by no means provided for them.

For this reason, seeing a ten-year-old boy driving a car is the norm in Saudi countries, especially in cities remote from the capital. His mother and sisters can sit next to him, even if they are much older than their brother. The law looks at such actions quite normally, turning a blind eye to all the risk factors that such driving carries. By the way, it is noteworthy that, despite this, young men in Saudi Arabia only receive a driving license at the age of eighteen.

[The women's “car issue” has been under consideration for a long time. First of all, the financial factor affects. It's no secret that Saudi Arabia is a fairly rich country, and the poverty line here is much higher than in most other countries, but it is foolish to think that every family owns its own source of oil. This is far from true. But, given that even a woman must be taken to the hospital by a driver, women have been fighting for the right to drive a car for a long time and very actively. Let's hope that this rule will be canceled soon. Note website editors website]

Moving around the city, walking

No woman in Saudi Arabia is allowed to walk the streets alone. The only exceptions are “short films”. hiking inside very crowded places, for example, in a shopping center while shopping.

In any other case, a woman, whether Arab or foreign, is required by law to be accompanied by her husband or any other close male relative. In general, a woman cannot appear in public alone, only accompanied by a man from the family, and it does not matter that he will only be 6 years old.

They find this law quite logical, given the number of missing women. And this is not any ordinary " scary tale" If, say, any man or group of men notices that you walk alone every day along the same street or deserted place, you will certainly be kidnapped. For what? To rape and dispose of your corpse in the desert that makes up most of the country. Therefore, such walks are not only illegal, but also very, very dangerous for every woman.

By the way, a similar case was reported by a Muslim man who also has a wife. And believe me, he will never allow his wife to walk alone, anywhere. And not because he is a tyrant, but precisely for the reason mentioned above.

Clothes, appearance

In public places, wherever she is, a woman must be dressed in an ibaiya - a black baggy robe that covers all parts of a woman’s body, including her hands, from prying eyes. This item of clothing must be sewn according to all the rules and standards of decency of Arab society and be exclusively black in color and no other color than black. The only decoration on clothing may be thread embroidery or precious stones, but only on the sleeves.

By the way, this also applies to foreign women. When you arrive by plane at the airport in Saudi Arabia, you are required to wear your Ibaiya before passing through customs control, otherwise you may have serious problems.

The same applies to the headdress, that is, the burqa. According to a recently passed law, only a foreign woman, if she does not profess the religion of Islam, can walk with her head uncovered on the streets of the country. This only applies to foreigners with a different faith.

All other women are required by law to cover their heads, especially local residents. If the religious police (mutawa) stop a girl of oriental appearance on the street with her head uncovered, and she turns out to be a Muslim, which will be indicated in her personal card, which identifies the identity of citizens (everyone without exception is required to wear it), then her husband will face severe punishment in the form of whipping and a serious fine.

Moreover, he may even be an employee of the British embassy or occupy another high position - nothing will save him from punishment, neither money nor connections. Therefore, it is unlikely that any Muslim woman would think of doing such stupidity.

By the way, British women who are on the territory of English compounds can sometimes jokingly threaten their husbands to walk down the city street with their heads uncovered. Although in the compound itself they can dress as they please.

And despite the fact that, if you refer to the Koran, Muslim women can only cover their heads, most of them also cover their faces, and completely. It is rare to see Muslim women with an open face somewhere in public places, except that their eyes are visible, and even then it all depends on the whims of the husband.

As a rule, all Muslim men are quite unanimous on this issue, and therefore women have to cover not only their heads, but their entire faces. Therefore, from childhood, girls are instilled with great fear that if they do not cover their faces, they will be considered great sinners and will not go to heaven. So by the age of eighteen, every girl believes that she is certainly destined to go to heaven, and they believe in this completely sincerely.

Newborn children under the age of one year are dressed quite classically, as in other countries - even in bright red colors. But with the appearance of her first menstruation, a girl is already obliged to cover her head, and from the age of eighteen, her face.

Entertainment, alcohol, drugs

By the way, getting drugs for Saudis is much easier than, for example, getting alcohol anywhere. And buying a car is much cheaper than getting married. This is probably why the only entertainment for young Arab guys is racing while stoned on the highway.

Indeed, due to the lack of female company and, in fact, sex, many men literally go crazy. After all, there is no prostitution here, and for the closest sexual entertainment you have to go only to neighboring Dubai or Bahrain. But not every Saudi can afford it. It is for a number of these reasons that men become “sexual maniacs” who literally eat women with their eyes and, of course, rape them at any opportunity. Of course, this does not apply to absolutely all Saudi men, but do not forget that there are many of them.

A woman here is considered to some extent a luxury and not everyone can afford to have a wife even at a decent age, although people here get married quite early. A wedding and maintaining a wife are very expensive. Some may have two or three wives (up to four), but this is very rare.

Many organizations and public catering establishments, such as restaurants, have a separate entrance for married couples and single men and women.

It is possible for a man to have at least some contact with a woman, even if it is just a conversation or a walk, not to mention visiting a restaurant or cafe, only if she is his wife. That is, any contact between an unmarried man and a woman is considered a violation of the law and is immediately stopped by prison punishment.

This also applies to foreigners. A foreign woman may well sit in a cafe or restaurant with her husband among his friends or colleagues. But if she is caught doing this alone, she will face prison and a fine.

If this is some kind of structure, then women enter separately and are served only by women. In restaurants, the atmosphere is not very different from European, but the glass is not transparent, so that people cannot see the married women behind the glass. As a rule, tables are located in separate booths or behind screens, less often - in a common room. No country in the world has such a brutal division between men and women as Saudi Arabia.

The same situation applies to entertainment.

For example, to go to a zoo or an amusement park, which are very numerous and popular here, you need to choose an even or odd day, on which women with children (exclusively with boys under 12 years old) and men, also with their sons, can visit such establishments separately.

As for any entertainment other than visiting parks and attractions, the zoo and restaurants, they no longer exist. Watching movies is also prohibited - you will not find a single cinema, theater, opera or other noisy establishments in the country. The country itself seems to be a complete desert, where dead silence has reigned since the beginning of centuries. Music is prohibited in principle - there are no concerts, no public performances, no singers.

Even circus performances outdoors or indoors are strictly prohibited. That is, you won’t hear music anywhere here at all. In special restaurants where there is a large audience of foreign customers, a holiday menu may appear, and even then you are unlikely to see a mention of “Christmas” or “holiday” anywhere. Just the inscription “special menu” for certain holidays, for example, on December 24 and 25.

There is a known case of a Saudi girl who had a gorgeous voice and went to live in Lebanon to become a singer. On stage she does not cover her head or cover her face. For this, her relatives cursed her and disowned her completely, and she was strictly forbidden to appear in Saudi Arabia. If she still dares to come, her family will kill her with their own hands. This is such a grave sin in Arabia - to become a singer.

Photography

Taking photographs in Saudi Arabia is generally quite difficult. In short, photography is prohibited. It is prohibited to photograph people, animals, buildings, streets, or even indoors. If you are found on the street or anywhere indoors with a camera in your hands, you may be arrested. The lightest punishment is confiscation of the camera. All photographs that you have ever seen in the press or on video were taken with the official permission of the Ministry.

The reason for such a great ban on photography is that the Saudis are confident that terrorists are lurking for them at every turn. Although progress has already reached more spectacular inventions, for example, a mini-camera the size of a woman’s ring. Several years ago, the country even officially banned Cell phones with photo and video functions.

Religion

Is it worth mentioning that in Saudi Arabia you cannot practice your religion. That is, of course, you can, but behind five locks. Any symbols of any religion other than Islam are completely prohibited by law.

You will not be allowed to bring into the country either Buddhist or Christian literature, or crosses, or any other attributes of “non-Islamic” religions. Here you will not see temples and churches. Anything related to another religion is strictly prohibited. You cannot wear a Christian cross openly around your neck. You can wear it on your body where no one will see it. But if someone ever sees him, very severe punishment may follow, including caning, imprisonment and a fine.

By the way, not only religious symbols are prohibited, but also all attributes of European holidays. For example, Santa Claus and all references to him, as well as the Christmas tree, Christmas decorations, images of Jesus, Christmas decorations, reindeer, gnomes and all other holiday paraphernalia are strictly prohibited throughout the country. You won’t see New Year’s symbols anywhere during the holidays, even in large shopping centers, except perhaps for the illumination, which is already present on the streets of the city at night all year round. Even Christmas decorations on your own home, if you live outside the compound, are punishable by law and are immediately stopped in public, so as not to become disgraceful.

Now let's think about whether it is comfortable for a European woman to live in the country? The answer may seem very obvious, however, this is not entirely true.

Within the compound (a separate, most often fenced, full-scale residential complex, or even more likely a town), the life of a foreign woman proceeds in her usual mode. No matter how hard it is to believe, many European women who live in Saudi Arabia are quite happy with their lives. Here they feel great and can even engage in any activity they like.

The most common average compound looks like a European mid- or even high-class hotel, around which lies an area the size of a European town or village. A woman can dress however she wants within the compound.

On the territory you can find a lot of different establishments, including sports clubs, museums, beauty salons, shops and cafes. You can also swim in the pool or play sports in sports club, which is divided into male and female. You can also visit the golf club even with other men along with your husband.

If your husband is free in the evening and can take you to the city for shopping, shopping in the country turns into the most exciting and interesting activity, since prices are much lower than European ones, due to the absence of customs duties. Visiting a cafe or restaurant is a pleasure - the variety of oriental cuisine will not leave anyone indifferent. If you have a personal driver, you can even afford to visit shops or beauty salons in the city during the daytime. However, you can also use a specialized taxi service.

Discounts and sales will become a real paradise for any woman. If you don’t want to spend all your time at home, then you can do something more useful than visiting beauty salons. For example, sign up for courses in modeling, sewing, handicrafts, and various types of creativity. Or polish your knowledge of foreign languages. By the way, within the compound there are all necessary communications, including mobile communications, satellite television and high-speed Internet. So you definitely won’t find yourself in an information hole.

Do you want to continue your studies at university or deepen your existing knowledge? No problem. You can completely enroll in college remotely. Distance learning is provided by many European and American universities, such as MBA. You can complete your medical or teaching education remotely and put your knowledge into practice in local schools or health services. Work can be found both within the compound and outside it, but only in the women's team.

As for entertainment, you can drink alcohol within the territory of the compound, the main thing is that you are not caught doing this activity outside the compound. How to get it there? In principle, it is not forbidden to keep alcohol in your possession, but that’s a matter of dexterity. With alcohol, you can organize the most wonderful parties with music and crazy dancing in the compound. There is no danger for you there.

Of course, one might think that this is just a drop in the ocean against the backdrop of so many restrictions. However, next to the man you love, such a life looks quite good. Imagine - your husband works and provides for you completely, and you do what you personally want, only with a little caution. You will have enough strength and opportunity to realize your independence in some other areas of life.

In Saudi Arabia, there is a law according to which the wife is completely, morally and financially, dependent on her husband. However, if peace and mutual understanding reign in your family, then it will not be difficult for you to live happily with your husband even in a “golden cage”. But you need, of course, to clarify all the relationships in advance and be a thousand percent sure that your husband will always be the same as he seems now. This is in case of any future conflicts. Because if in Europe social services for the protection of women’s rights and even the police are almost knocking on your door, here there is no trace of such a thing. A husband has the right to do whatever comes into his head with his wife, and for that you only have yourself to blame. No one will help you, rest assured. So you need to maintain the warmest relationship with your husband, and everything will be fine, both with you and in your family.

Saudi Arabia is interesting country with great opportunities, and therefore for many people around the world a job offer in this country looks very attractive. Zero taxes and huge earnings attract both highly qualified engineers and other specialists, as well as ordinary people who do the hard dirty work. These people work for next to nothing, but they still value their work because they know that they can’t earn even that in their home country. Here you can see Americans, Russians, and Bangladeshis.

As for Saudi women, do not rush to sigh pitifully at their expense. Many women here live like in a fairy tale. From childhood they get used to religious restrictions, however, having successfully married, they receive a loving husband, untold wealth, travel, and a rich spiritual world. happy love story with a Saudi man at the link.

They may not have opportunities for professional development, but they can develop spiritually and enrich their spiritual world. And endless shopping and beauty salons make their life a dream for every European woman. However, the saddest fate here is to be born a woman in a poor family. Because a European woman can realize much more opportunities in her country and “get out among the people,” which cannot be said about Saudi girls. Here their opportunities to take everything from life are reduced to almost zero.

Yuliya, letter to the editor of the site site.

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36 comments to “ What life is like for a woman in Saudi Arabia”

1. Young woman:

   Yuliya, thanks for the article. very interesting, very similar to the truth..

   “a wife cannot leave the country without her husband’s permission”... I think everyone understands what this means.

2. Masha:

   Really well written, both about clothes and about the status of women.

   Here's another fact about SA. Not only do women walk around covered from head to toe, but they want even more, they believe that even a woman completely wrapped in a black robe can give rise to satanic desires in men thanks to “languid glances.”

   They even drafted a law that would protect poor men from such a scourge; women are asked to close their eyes.

   How far can such nonsense go? For example, in 2002 there was a big story when the morality police did not let high school girls out of a burning school building because their heads were not covered with a scarf. As a result, 15 girls died and dozens suffered from burns and carbon monoxide poisoning.

   This is fine?

3. Olga:

   Yuliya, thanks for the article. It was interesting to read about life in Saudi Arabia. Indeed, the country is closed and the outside world knows little about life there.

4. Natalia:

   What explains all these strange cruelties? There must be reasons.

5. kira:

   And they explain, dear women, that the Al-Saud dynasty is in power, which itself recently “emerged” from the Bedouins, what do you want from people who only recently moved from a camel to a Mercedes, there is also the so-called “Bedouin Code”, where a woman's honor must not be tarnished in any way.

   In the Arabian desert (since Bedouins live everywhere in the deserts of the Near and Middle East) there was a case when a local Arab drew attention to an Arab Bedouin, they began a relationship, secretly of course, her mother understood everything when she began to feel sick, became pregnant by him, so the Bedouins there shot the entire unit that was located in the desert for this girl, killed everyone they could, then they had problems with the local authorities..

   Bedouins (although modern Saudis do not like to identify themselves with Bedouins), they are nomads, with a very strict, I would say cruel, code of honor in relation to women, although the men themselves allow themselves to walk, and from whomever has the most money they buy Pakistani women with this money, Indians, Filipinas from their fathers, since they are poor Asian countries they are sold for money, if a Filipina is hired as a nanny for a Saudi family, 99% she will be attracted to have sex against her will, modern Saudis have the concept of an employee, and it doesn’t matter whether there is a woman or a man, they believe “If you work for my family, then I do whatever I want with you,” like slaves, this even exists at the level of very rich and influential families, few of them are decent, even though even within the Al Saud dynasty the attitude towards women is very strict, most of them consumerist, read “Notes of Princess Sultana” , one of the daughters of the Al Saud dynasty, then, as the heroine said, you need to look at both so that your husband is on the same line with you, maybe if he is European, then yes, since indeed many Europeans and Americans live and work there, taxes are really low, shopping is good , you can live in a compound, but outside even seasoned Arabs and other Muslims are afraid of this country, the death penalty, the rod, like in the Middle Ages, women are intimidated, they kill a lot of them, if something goes wrong. Men are often gay in Saudi Arabia, so to be It’s forbidden to simply communicate with a woman. Men love each other more than women. I’m not talking about fairy tales, but about what I actually encountered.

   Most Gulf residents, of course, differ from the same Egyptians and Palestinians in mentality, but the Saudis are something. Try to tell them that a Muslim woman may not cover her face, since the Koran says that the head should be covered up to the hands, the face may desire, and not an obligation, they will “eat” you for these words, and other Arabs, even Gulf residents, would rather agree with you, but the Saudis never, they are very religious people, but the pity is that their Islam is Wahhabi, non-traditional, it is the Saudis (Emir Khattab) helped instill fear and fight with Russia (if you remember in the Chechen Republic under Khattab and other emirs, at one time women there if they were seen without a hijab, they were shot, because Kadyrov’s father Akhmat Hadji Kadyrov began to fight against them because he saw “their” Islam , and not the way he should be

   ask any Arab who goes to this country to work, what do they think about the Saudis?! At first they will be shy, then they will say that in reality... They are only going for the money..

   My Arab friend, who worked as a doctor in Saudi Arabia for 5 years, his colleagues, apparently ordinary doctors - specialists, seemed to be friends, once the three of us went to his house, his Arab wife opened the door, she replied that her husband was at work, come back later , so they raped her..

   They, as a rule, are cowards by nature, they thought maybe they would get away with it and wouldn’t tell their husband, but she said, he called the local police, they didn’t help, they were protecting their own, he decided to act on his own... invited them home, gave them tea that contained poison... and when they fell asleep forever, he cut off their heads, and closed the door, and flew home... there he addressed the Prime Minister personally, they called from Saudi Arabia, like we will close the entry for your citizens... The Prime Minister says close it, look what yours have done, we have such a country even for there is no need for work...they haven’t closed it as before, millions of Arabs and others are working there..

   Another case, also another Arab friend, told how his Saudi friend, a respected man, kept a den like slaves, did not feed or drink at home, here is one Filipina, and wrote the phone number with the embassy number, so my friend called, with He no longer communicated with that Saudi Arabian.

   Another example of their wild mentality, the Saudi prince was sitting, playing in a casino, lost, one person just said something to him inappropriately, he shot him, just paid money and left, and it was not in third countries, but in London!

   Just meet a Saudi and live there, even here, and look, I want to say right away, not everyone is bad, I know someone in Moscow who studies here, the guy is not bad, but you can immediately see that he is gay, and therefore not aggressive. Even the Gulf Arabs are not they love the masses because they behave so cruelly

   In Egypt they say that if a father marries his daughter to a Saudi, it means he wants to lose her for money..

   decide for yourself and read “Notes of Princess Sultana. Life in Saudi Arabia under the hood”

6. kira:

   And why maybe all this cruelty, as I already said, the Bedouin lifestyle in the past, patriarchy, and they just recently abolished serfdom, and the Saudis brought slaves from Sudan.

   Now there is a category of Saudis who want freedom, education, especially girls, and they are no longer the same Bedouins without an education, but the “man is always right” system is killing everything in the bud, although they continue to fight for their rights, recently one Saudi woman got behind the wheel and I took my dying brother to the hospital, no matter what, I think that soon they will be allowed to drive a car, it’s just that many men there think (complete nonsense! Considering such a contradiction, it’s impossible for a woman, but they take a hired worker as a driver, as if he couldn’t rape this Saudi woman!) Why let a woman drive like the king said: “There won’t be a single virgin left in our country”, “Shaitan will be with her” - complete nonsense, as if a Saudi woman is only thinking about how to drive men! It’s immediately clear that the local men there are oh-oh-oh, how afraid they are of losing their absolute power against the backdrop of the activity of other Arab countries, since even the Saudis are already changing..

   Recently there was a case there, the husband got angry with his Saudi wife, and began to swear at her “in front of all the honest people,” she began to cry, and then the husband fell silent because he saw a flock of women from black abayas with frying pans gathered around him, there were a lot of them, they They told him: “Come on, apologize to your wife, otherwise it will be worse” - ready to attack him at any moment, he and his wife cowarded. That’s good, already progress.

   But even if your husband is European, and he is a decent man, the situation itself can make him feel superior to you, like he is a king, this is a country of men. You have to be very careful there, in everything! The society there is “not quite of this world”

7. Yuri:

   Anyone interested in the topic of life in Saudi Arabia can read the following books:
   Jean P. Sasson
   1. Princess. The true story of life under the veil in Saudi Arabia
   2. Princess's daughters.
   There is also an interesting book about Iran, written by an American, it is called:
   Only with my daughter
   

8. Olga:

   Jean P. Sasson is American, so all her books are written through the prism of America. Interesting read though. It’s better to read Arab authors then. For example, Raja Aslani “Girls of Riyadh” (in Russian called “Sex in the Eastern City”).

9. Olga:

   “My Arab friend, who worked as a doctor in Saudi Arabia for 5 years, his colleagues, apparently ordinary doctors - specialists, seemed to be friends, once the three of us came into his house, his Arab wife opened the door, she replied that her husband was at work, come later, they raped her...”
   
   Even I, not being an Arab, know that in my husband’s homeland in an Arab country, when he is not at home, you cannot open the door to strangers. All negotiations are only through a closed door. And then an Arab woman opened the door, and even in Saudi Arabia! She was probably out of her mind...

   “Recently there was a case there, the husband got angry with his Saudi wife, and began to swear at her “in front of all the honest people,” she began to cry, and then the husband fell silent because he saw a flock of women from black abayas with frying pans gathered around him, there were a lot of them, they told him: “Come on, apologize to your wife, otherwise it will be worse.”
   _________________________________________________________
   Do Saudi women walk down the street with frying pans (probably hiding them under their abayas)? Or did you manage to run to the nearest store and buy some? 😀

10. Natalia:

    Despite the fact that everyone understands that among all ethnic groups there are good and bad people...

    No religion other than Islam, and no other ethnic community like the Arabs, speaks so much about the treachery, dishonesty and barbaric laws that govern these people.

    Even those Middle Eastern countries that consider themselves “civilized” are only an external gloss. Inside, they are ALL, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, rotten and slippery!!!

    I thought that maybe I was wrong, maybe only I come across such people. I talked to many of them. Even those who studied and worked in Russia after studying, speak Russian well, have lived in Russia for several years (!) - as soon as communication moves from the stage of first acquaintance, usually this is 3-4 meetings - and their Arab rot begins to come out with terrible force from under a civilized suit and tie.

    Vile, rotten, slippery people... It seems that they are not from Earth at all.

11. Sofia:

    Oh, I don’t like such topics... simply because few of us have been to Saudi Arabia. I was, though a very long time ago. 17 years ago. On the lesser Hajj, with my husband.

    Regarding Sesson’s books, there are a lot of inconsistencies, from which it follows that the materials were collected from no one knows where or from whom, and were taught without thinking. One puppy in the house of the main character’s father (a religious man) is worth something!

    Also, do not forget that the heroine was born in 1956, and describes times 25-30 years ago.

    Yes, 17 years ago, women in Saudi Arabia did not have passports, and, in my opinion, they were not even counted in censuses. Yes, the mutawa walks around and looks; my husband and I were pulled twice and checked our documents - because... No matter how you wrap me up, my eyes and eyebrows are light, and my skin is so blue-white, and it’s immediately clear that I’m not Arab. But they were lagging behind. But for example, in some Emirates there are also strict rules - for example, a servant (actually a doorman watchman) at a hotel can, suspecting that a man has brought “not his wife” to him, inform the police, and they will come - and it won’t seem like much if the watchman’s suspicions are true .

    Regarding the rigidity of the Bedouins.

    
    
    As soon as Saudi Arabia began to use its oil, and then the Emirates, that’s how it all began.
    And it continues, and even intensifies.
    And even though the Saudis have now, it seems, introduced passports for women, they are still incognito there, and we only feed on speculation, or brief glimpses during the Hajj or from the compound.

12. kira:

    Dear Olga!

    I am contacting you regarding this phrase

    Even I, not being an Arab, know that in my husband’s homeland in an Arab country, when he is not at home, you cannot open the door to strangers. All negotiations are only through a closed door. And then an Arab woman opened the door, and even in Saudi Arabia! She was probably out of her mind...

    there is no need to judge anyone, especially since you do it, being, as you yourself said, not an Arab, since my Emirati husband always calmly treated if someone came to him, but he was not at home, he always said open it if I no, please pass on such and such information, in case the servants come in, and you know, once it was not his friend who came, but an acquaintance, and nothing like that happened, thank God, since people are civilized, not savages! at least take a look, please, what do you advise, don’t open the door, (read, sit crammed at home, I don’t want to get personal since I don’t know you, but what you advise looks exactly as I write, as if there was a woman there - not a person, but an animal, without any rights, what does it mean to not open the door??
    and if the news is from your husband. if he is in the hospital, or God forbid he died /
    or he urgently needs help, of course he may not ask for it from you, well, logic and a feeling of elementary compassion should be there, or what did your husband say, what should you do, if he says die, you will die?

    you just need to be human and respect your family, a normal Arab or Arabs, even if they need the husband of someone’s wife, and somehow they won’t find him on the phone and such savagery will never occur to them!!! rape someone's wife, they will fear God,

    so, please, there is no need to defend medieval savagery, trust is one thing, but verify, savagery is another thing, these are non-humans, and, unfortunately, there are many of them in the world. Why am I saying this, many non-Gulf Arabs do not like Gulf Arabs for their medieval view of women, even despite the modern technologies that they began to have, but no one can compare with the Saudis in terms of that very cruelty, they don’t care who the Arab woman is in front of them, non-Arab, savagery is in the blood of these former Bedouins, it will take many more years to explain to them what’s what.

    the same neighboring Yemenis, more humane than the Saudis with their ban on everything

    if so many people complain about them, the Saudis, and the Arabs themselves complain about them, then there is no smoke without fire.

    Jean P. Sasson is an American, so all her books are written through the prism of America. Interesting read though. It’s better to read Arab authors then. For example, Raja Aslani “Girls of Riyadh” (in Russian called “Sex in the Eastern City”). 8)

    Jean is an American, you are right, only the book was written according to the words of a princess under the nickname Sultana, she wrote from her words, since a Saudi friend of mine who lives in Moscow confirmed my words that there was such a princess, like she threw mud at her family, (she told the truth), I believe the Saudi will not lie, since he works for the embassy of his Saudi Arabia, is a distant relative of Prince Muhammad,

    You can say whatever you want, but there is truth, their attitude towards life and towards women, talk to a Saudi, invite him to the theater, to a museum, anywhere at all, they will not budge, they are terribly lazy, just to sit, eat, sleep and forgive me to do more than better, if you like a life full of absurdity and you are nobody in it, then go ahead WELCOME TO HELL (SAUDIA), OR TO HEAVEN, whichever you prefer! But if everything is so good there, why are so many Arabs complaining about them, I still understand, there is envy there, about money, but no, they are talking about the real thing, and you don’t have to go far into the forest, meet a Saudi and you will see everything with your own eyes...

13. kira:

    My grandmother first visited the Arab East in 1955-56 (Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt). Bedouins then walked around with open faces, all hung with beads and monists, with tattoos in all places.
    Egypt was secular then, Algeria, Tunisia, Tangier, Libya were secular. And Syria was not particularly fanatical.
    
    This is all true, Sofia, there were other times, you are right, and Egypt was different, I liked it better from the old films (especially my favorite hero Zaki Besha from “The House of Yacoubian”, I really like the Egyptian intelligentsia of those times, I was not there lived, but the image is magnificent, what some Egyptians were, educated, far-sighted, able to understand a woman and hear her, after all, my opinion is that the non-Gulf Arabs are much more developed than the Gulf Arabs in the ability to think about a woman :)

    Even during the USSR, my aunt served in our consulate in Yemen, so the Bedouins of Aden, the most beautiful women of the East, also walked with open faces, did not cover themselves like now, she told me so when we were asked to give a lecture to their local women about clothes, they when they took off their abayas, she gasped, so French lace, stockings, the best lingerie, etc.

    now something remains from that time, but Saudi fundamentalism-idiocy is killing everything

    By the way, the same Yemenis are much kinder than the Saudis, they still have the Yemeni Communist Party, where they openly say that they don’t want what is in Saudi Arabia, especially since they don’t have a king, but a president, although local elders decide a lot, but As far as I know, they don’t like the Saudis... they even want to create a free airline, they don’t like the fact that Yemen is half made up of Saudi money. It is clear that the country is poor, economically backward, with a tribal form of government, but the people are honest, maybe not all, but much more honest than the Saudis..

14. Olga:

    Dear Kira! I am in no way promoting or defending “MEDIEVAL SAVAGE”. In my husband’s country (Egypt) there are customs that, by the way, are directly related to Islam. There, even if the master comes to fix the faucet (in the absence of the husband), the door is left open until he does his job and leaves. And if the husband is at home, then the wife does not show herself to this master, because... A stranger has no business looking at other people's wives. 🙂 And if, God forbid, something happens to your husband, then we live in the 21st century and everyone has mobile phones and the Internet. And I don’t argue at all that the laws in SA are harsh. Several years ago there was an article in the media that an elderly Saudi woman was caned as punishment for simply talking to a man who was not her relative on the threshold of her house. And the “good” neighbors apparently snitched on her. And you say open the door! It will most likely be difficult for a non-Muslim woman to live in this country.
    I have read almost all of Jean P. Sasson's books. Yes, it is believed that she writes from the words of real people. But, nevertheless, she is an American and, first of all, protects the interests of her country. Therefore, all her books are written through the prism of America.
    I know about Saudia from the stories of my husband’s relatives, who have lived there for more than 30 years. One of them even received SA citizenship, which, as you probably know, is extremely rare. So, dear Kira, I am not defending the Saudis, but the information received still needs to be filtered. 🙂

15. kira:

    that wife of my Arab friend was not a Gulf Arab, they have a more secular attitude towards women than in the Gulf, there is more trust, the same in Egypt and Jordan, it would never occur to anyone if for some reason friends came over and there was no husband at home, they will leave, they will come later,

    I understand everything with their charter they don’t go to someone else’s monastery, they just have ELEMENTARY DECEPTY, PLEASE THINK ABOUT THIS,

    AN ARAB MAN IS FIRST OF ALL A RELIGIOUS PERSON, IT WOULDN’T COME IN HIS HEAD TO DO THIS, ESPECIALLY WITH AN ARAB WOMAN,

    THIS ALSO SHOWS THE LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY, SO BACKWARD WITH ALL MODERN TECHNOLOGIES AND MONEY, THAT WHAT IS HAPPENING THERE IS JUST CALLED “MEDIEVAL WILDLIFE” looked at it wrong - mutava, answered wrong - off your head, in no other country in the world is there such savagery, even Gulf Arabs are afraid of the very name of this country..

    A normally thinking Arab could not even imagine that someone who is called a friend could do such a thing to his wife.. This says something, at least about the meanness of the people living there, like don’t trust anyone at all.. I say to my face you are my friend, but there is an enemy behind your back.. This is not an eastern approach, this is already savagery.. to rape a colleague’s wife.. This is no longer haram, already halas... 😯 😯

16. Olga:

    “...we calmly came to visit, no one put on a niqab.”
    ________________________________________________________
    That's right, you and your husband came to visit. Do you feel the difference?
    That's it, I won't argue with you anymore. Read about Islam at your leisure for familiarization purposes. 🙂 About a remote village this is definitely not for me 😀

17. Sofia:

    Kira, the neighbors’ opinion is also very important. If a family lives not in a villa, but in a house, then the neighbors’ glances and hissing in the ears can completely ruin life. Until forced departure. And when the children grow up and look for a mate, they will remember everything. And in those places where it is customary to use the services of a matchmaker, the matchmaker will not come to your family, or will come with an inappropriate offer.
    Even if a young wife does not communicate with her neighbors, her mother-in-law communicates with them. And you have to be very lucky for your husband’s mother to be smart and tactful enough to guide his wife in an inoffensive, reasonable, humorous way (for example, I was just lucky).
    I can say from my own example - I lived in Egypt for 16 years (out of 21 years of marriage). My husband is not a tyrant or a savage at all. His father is a bit of a tyrant and absolutely not a savage. But I stood out and stand out from the crowd of local women so much that I had to cover myself, leaving only my face and hands. In Egypt it was not particularly customary to wear abayas, as in the Gulf countries... but I did. Because otherwise idiotic, funny and unpleasant things would happen. And I exposed my hair only in the house, or in the mall, or when my husband and I went to Bahrain, to a water park. And also on expeditions in which I went with my husband. There I wore trousers. 🙂
    And why create problems where they can be avoided quite simply? I would like to note that we lived in Aswan, which was not very touristy at the time. Where there are few European women.
    And as for the Saudis... well, a true Saudi will never marry a Russian/Ukrainian... and why be afraid of something that will never happen to you? The maximum that a foreign wife who has converted to Islam can do is go to KSA for Hajj or Ummrah for a few days. And then this will be the wife of a non-Saudi, but also a Muslim who is performing the Hajj, or who has gotten a job in the KSA. Those. a priori impaired in his rights, and his wife even more so.
    This country has never strived for democracy, and will not strive. And measuring it by the standards of the emancipated countries of Europe and America is ridiculous. The East is the East, and the West is the West. And together they will never come together (R. Kipling).

18. kira:

    This country has never strived for democracy, and will not strive. And measuring it by the standards of the emancipated countries of Europe and America is ridiculous. The East is the East, and the West is the West. And together they will never come together (R. Kipling).

    Thank you for the answer. It was very interesting to learn about your experience, Well, I see a woman with intelligence, I hope you don’t run headlong from the room when a plumber or other craftsman comes to your home, or to your mother-in-law, then the door is open, I I think that already says a lot.

    I have seen a lot of Egyptians, but for the most part, they are quite educated, and I will say, more modern than the Gulf people, also a lot of old Egyptian cinema from the 1950s confirms this, they, in my opinion, have more or less open relationships than, say, , in comparison with the Gulf Arabs, the Egyptians remind me more of a matriarchy, in fact, I heard from my Egyptian friends that children up to a certain age remain with their mother, when it is very difficult to come to an agreement with the Gulf about the children, in the majority, the child remains with the father , and in Egypt, I see, it’s more democratic, you live better, at least our Egyptian friends are all quite educated and open-minded, maybe a hijab for a wife at the most, and then, if desired, there is no Saudi cruelty,

    Then, I don’t want to measure Saudi Arabia and Europe, I can only compare some Arab countries with others, I have traveled quite a lot in the Middle East and the Middle East, and I can say how one differs from the other, savagery is not my passion, since having the Yemenis -friends whom I value very much, and a Saudi acquaintance, I also know Egyptians, Palestinians, Omanis, Bphrains and Emiratis with Qataris, and I never compare the East with the West: different cultures, I’m just talking about basic decency that does not cross the borders of savagery , where the men of my friend, who presented themselves as friends, had the audacity to betray trust and commit savagery with his Egyptian wife, also other Arabs encountered similar cases, I think this says something, whether to believe Jean Sasson or not

19. kira:

    You see, there is simply a human attitude towards a woman, and there is savagery, as, for example, in Saudi Arabia: one Saudi man played cards with his friends until late at home, his sister, about 13 years old, came out to them loudly, and in a hijab, asked them not to shout gromeo since she has to get up early for school, and what do you think, those friends of the Saudi, knowing that this is the sister of their friend, they consider them like brothers, they took and raped the girl en masse, and she became pregnant... And that the brother stood up for his sister?! No, of course, she was sentenced to death by hanging, only first she must give birth to a child, then go to the scaffold hand in hand... Well, I think the Egyptians would not have come to this, they really don’t like the Gulf, and the Saudis are half-criminals — they consider Wahhabis, that’s what they say, we are Egyptians, Palestinians, etc., but not Gulf Arabs, these Arabs are not from the Gulf, from the Gulf..

    And when they start talking here, here I am, waiting for the tram, I shouldn’t have opened the door, without my husband, otherwise, guess what, it’s uncivilized, not human, but medieval, if in front of you is a civilized person, and not - a savage who came down from the mountains, with a jambia, who, when he sees a woman, rushes at her, or controls tyranny so that she does not run away later, intimidates, you can open the door for him, he will ask you normally, and will go about his business, will not rush at his wife, or she will calmly watch as she is raped, and there is no need to say whether he is an Arab and raised in a different culture, or an American, who can also show the inclinations of a savage, JUST HAVE TO BE BORN A HUMAN!!! AND HAVE RESPECT FOR PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN, WHO ARE PROTECTED IN EASTERN RELIGIONS, AND THE TALK ABOUT NOT SHOWING YOURSELF IN THE EYES OF A FLOCKMAN OR PLUMBER, AND RUN AWAY FROM THEM, CAUSES CONSUMPTION, BECAUSE THIS IS THE POINT THAT SENDS WOMEN ON, TO IN GIVING THE FUTURE, NOT SO CIVILIZED MAN A CHANCE TO ATTACK HER, THAT IS, ACTUALLY GIVING HIM A GREEN LIGHT TO ACT TYRANNY.. HOW THERE ARE WOMEN WHO JUSTIFY WILDLIFE IS A MYSTERY FOR ME.. SHE’S PROBABLY BEHAVILED GOING TO SAUDI WITH A SMILE.. 🙁

    Someone will shout into their ears that he’s Saudi, and most likely just works there. Maybe a Gulf Arab, maybe a Yemeni.

    This is not an option IMHO.
    And there is a lot of information on the forum about “how you should behave.”
    A country of the most orthodox Sunniism, we had one acquaintance from Jeddah - so he believed that a wife should wear a niqab even in the house, and not even in a niqab, but with only one eye open... they say this is a great happiness for a woman and a merit, even if her children do not see her face. This is, of course, a more than extreme case, but nevertheless not an isolated one...

20. Simon:

    Svetlana!

    You can live with a Saudi in Ukraine if he works there, for example at the embassy... But be careful, those other people... As long as you are needed or loved, everything will be ok, gifts, going to the cinema, somewhere else, and then as they say “soup with a cat”...

    Of course, they won’t make soup out of you, but you can simply leave without explanation.. Still, Saudis are different, there is nothing who studied at USEY. who are in Europe..They are interesting people, their religiosity, to a greater extent, is shown, they can drink and hide behind the Koran, there was a story with the Saudis..If you want to tell me, write your e-mail

    Good luck to you 😉

21. adel:

    Givy v Saudii, zamygem, za inostrancem, rabotajushim zdes po kontrakty.Ljudi! ne nado vse svodit k krainosti. poimite, vse otnositelno! Otnositelno vashih zaprosov k gizni i k ludjam kotorie vas okrygajut.Poimite, someone to edet sjuda po zamygestvy iz prostenkoi rossiiskoi semji — gizn zdes bydet skazkoi! kto-to - doch horoshih i nebednih roditelei,davshih ei 1-2 obrazovanija.Ona emansipirovana,rabotaet v rossii,vidit "vkys gizni" - tyt ei bydet ad i turma.Kto-to - pravoslavnie(a-to i vovse ljudi bez prinadlegnosti k kakoi libo vere) - im tyt bydet nevinosimo.Kto-to - mysylmane, dlja takih-Rai! potomy chto Mekka,Medina - vse pod bokom.A mnogie rossiiskie mysylmane godami kopjat na odin edinstvennii Hajj v gizni.
    That's it aju.

    Tolko din sovet,kto reshaet svoju sydby,i ishet menija ljudei na forumah,chtobi prinjat reshenie - zadaite sebe questions: zachem-mne-eto-nygno?
    Kstati,kto givet zdes,v Saudii – otzovites: [email protected]
    Ja givy v city Yanbu 🙂

22. Sofia:

    And you, Slavena the Russian, of course know all of your ancestors up to at least the 7th generation... and they are all of the same blood and the same confession...

    And there were no devout Soviets among them, and the traditions were all entirely in the spirit of Domostroy, right?

    For example, I have Poles, Lithuanians, Russians, Georgians, Japanese in my blood. These are only those I know. And I know my ancestors more than 7 generations ago, heh.

    There may have been some believers, and even more so, religious among them, but at least until the depths of the 1750s, certainly not a single one. All some kind of tricks against the authorities, yes brawlers, and entrepreneurs. And race has nothing to do with it at all. The Arabs, by the way, are Indo-European, that is, “white,” descendants of Ham.

    The only tradition and faith is family; men also have a fatherland. For women, the fatherland is the one chosen by her husband.

23. Zhenya:

    why is it inappropriate?? This is truly creepy. And I don’t even look at princes in headscarves, especially after such articles

24. Sofia:

    Because it has nothing to do with the topic.
    But if you really want to, I’ll say that in Islam “toilet” topics are not discussed in public in principle.
    In general, Islam is very nervous about the topic of purity.
    For example, there was a fatwa - why Muslim believers should not wear a ring with the name All-a on their hand, because the owner can go to a latrine, and then this name will be desecrated.
    In Saudi Arabia, they are very jealous of such things. This is an extremely taboo society. Anyone who grew up in it lives in peace. the one who got into it from the outside - even if it is an Arab (Zalivovsky, or Egyptian) - takes it all hard.
    I was in KSA, the only time, with my husband, and that was enough for me... and for him too. But he is an Arab, a Sunni, a performer!

25. Michael:

    Great article!
    😉 in Europe, so to speak, civilized Europe is much worse, both materially and morally, since here a man is not fully a man and a woman, you won’t understand a woman or where...
    In general, I really like the laws of Saudi Arabia and not everything is as feudal as it seems!
    I choose only the east, here it is completely defined what is masculine and feminine as it should be, I will definitely go to this country! 😆 😆 😆

26. Graphomaniac:

    Yeah, the spiritual world of a woman in SA is shopping and black drapery a la cockroach. It’s funny to even talk about princesses. Dubai can also be called a golden cage, but it is such a dark prison for women that I am generally surprised how people go there. And this is the country where the Kaaba is located? What a horror, it’s no wonder that ISIS grew up on this, they also have “scenarios for princesses in black drapery”, they buy like animals, because everywhere they turn women into beasts... or sick people, only nerds and big people, for example AUTISTS, have similar restrictions. This means who women are considered to be in Saudi Arabia... Eh, and women are rightly not given even the most basic education to understand who they are to their fathers, husbands, and men in general. How do women even raise their children if they find themselves in SUCH slavery and even worse? 😯

27. Dasha:

    Reading some messages, you are simply surprised: it seems that there are people who have never seen anything cooler in their lives than alcohol and miniskirts. You can find a lot of nonsense about the SA; there is not much truthful information. A lot of attention is paid to women's education. Yes, students of different genders study separately. What is the most important thing in education? Are you going to study so you can sit next to people of a different gender? The same applies to work. Personally, I'm not interested in all this at all. I like everything. I believe that women are protected in this way like nowhere else. You don’t have to be afraid of encroachments or that your husband will force you to work or demand that you participate in the formation of the family budget, as sometimes happens in the so-called. free societies. I'm not religious, but it is this system that protects all women. And whoever doesn’t like it, no one is holding them or dragging them into this country by force. Excuse me, even entering the country is not so easy. There is nothing to even talk about a residence permit.

28. Dasha:

    And why is it that women are always the topic of discussion? For men in SA, no less strict rules apply; it is unfair to dwell only on women's topics and cite such dubious tabloid authors as Sesson as confirmation. If someone really read it, then they don’t have to be a prof. an orientalist, in order to understand that even from a chronological point of view, her books are full of gross inconsistencies. Sesson and everyone who publicly rinses this topic of “female humiliation” clearly, in principle, do not know what they are talking about. You need to study the CULTURE of the country in which you plan to live or visit. Trying to understand this culture, to get to the bottom of it. But doing this based on tabloid novels and dubious sources is a thankless task, with minimal benefit and a lot of horror stories that do not correspond to reality.

29. Sandal:

    So, dear ones, for some reason it seems to me that with Saudi Arabia this is some kind of vicious circle. The woman was wrapped in an abaya and niqab so that (God forbid!) she would not attract any man with her charms. Although the Koran does not require a woman to cover her face. Anyway. What did this lead to - young men, who had never seen a single aunt or a single girl, except close relatives, began to wildly fantasize at the mere glance of these mysterious velvet eyes from under the black veil... Guard!!! Debauchery! A shame! What to do!!! Close their eyes so they don’t stare!!! Otherwise, they are too sexy... And the men are weak-hearted... And how will they fall into unconsciousness! Who will work? A family will starve around the world...
    Exactly. Cover your aunts’ faces completely so that you can’t see their eyes. And here are some more gloves. This is also a good and correct topic. And the white skin of delicate hands with graceful thin fingers catches the eye against the backdrop of a black abaya. The men are losing their nerve...
    That's it. The woman is completely protected. From whom? From men with irrepressible imagination who rush at everything that moves. Why do they throw themselves? Because the forbidden fruit is sweet! Known since the beginning of time...
    Who should protect me from? In my country (thank God!) men don’t rush at women on the street, don’t grab their hands, and don’t whistle after them.
    Well, what’s better: to look at the world through a black net and shy away from everyone you come across (what if! as if something wouldn’t work out!) or to walk with an open face and smile at those who smile at you, or simply because you’re in a good mood and don’t expect any tricks or vulgar comments from anyone.
    However, everyone chooses for themselves...

    And one more note, sorry if it’s off topic...
    Sofia wrote: “The Arabs, by the way, are Indo-European, that is, “white,” descendants of Ham.”
    I don’t know who whose descendants are there. And what kind of Arabs are they? There are all sorts of Arabs - “white”, and not very, and very not... 😉
    And regarding the “whites”: what do you think the descendants of Japheth are like? Aren't they "white"? And the descendants of Ham seem to have settled throughout Africa... In general, we still need to dig deeper into the sources in order to clarify... Maybe I’m wrong all around...
    🙄 🙄 🙄

Al-Mamlayaqatu al-Arabiiyatu al-Saudiiyatu - this is exactly the name of the kingdom, which its inhabitants call among themselves briefly “al-Saudiyya”.

Religion as a way of life

Saudi Arabia is a country where Islam is based not on fear, but on an internal understanding of the “word of Allah”; it is located in the very heart of the Islamic world, bordering Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, and the Emirates. This is the homeland of Arab tribes who, back in 622, after the victorious campaign of the Ottoman Sultan Selim II, accepted Islam as the only possible religion. It was from here that the spread of Islam to the East began, displacing the Jewish faith.

Religious views are reinforced here historical facts, it is known for certain that the Prophet Muhammad preached for many years on the territory of the Caliphate, during his reign the infidels were expelled from the Hijaz. To this day, non-Christians are strictly prohibited from living in the territory of the holy Mecca and Medina.

Local residents live according to the “letter of the Koran”; there is, of course, a judicial power, but it is based on the norms of Sharia. Here they cut off a hand for theft, a head for violence. There is a religious police here, which not only monitors Muslims, but also infidels, who are prohibited from practicing religious worship in the country, demonstrating their religious preferences, etc.

Time passes slowly in this country. Arabs are leisurely; they can afford to spend an hour or two in an outdoor cafe, and then go to work. being late for a meeting with a foreigner is also not scary, but a foreigner who is delayed on the way is unlikely to be forgiven for this.

Enterprises and shops also do not have fixed operating hours, with the only exceptions being administrative bodies and life-saving organizations. No one works on Friday - it is a day of prayer.

You are unlikely to find toys in the shape of animals in stores. The Koran believes that they cannot be created, because otherwise a person will try to become like Allah. It's funny, but in cities men are not allowed to walk their pets, but women are allowed to.

Women of Islam

There is a lot of talk about the situation of women in Saudi Arabia, noting their insecurity and powerlessness. Indeed, the woman is completely subordinate, but this is not as bad as it seems, because she is “entrusted to him by Allah,” which for a true believer means the need to protect her. And men really take care of their women. Especially from prying eyes.

All women are required to cover their heads, conceal their faces, and wear special clothing outside the home. Each of them has her own “guardian” - an older man who monitors the correctness of her actions; it is he who decides whether the ward can receive an education, seek medical help, visit public places, etc.

Girls are not free to choose a husband; they are given out at the age of 10 by prior agreement between families. It is not necessary for the bride to be at the wedding.

Meanwhile, women work and lead active lives, but, however, only between women. It is forbidden to visit them, sit at the same table with them, and even more so enter into an argument.

Women are not allowed to have a driver's license, so only men drive. The bans also apply to foreign women, so you won’t be able to walk around the capital in European dress.

53 Saudi clerics called on Arab countries to support “jihad” against Russia, Iran and the Syrian authorities.

Third Saudi

The state of Saudi Arabia was born on September 23, 1932. In 1926, Abdul al-Aziz of the Saud family united the regions of Najd and Hijaz and founded the Kingdom of Najd and Hijaz, in 1932, after conquering Asir and strengthening positions in Al Hasa and Qatif, the country became known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Modern Saudi Arabia is also sometimes called the Third Saudi State, thus distinguishing it from the First and Second Saudi States, which lasted from 1744 to 1813 and from 1824 to 1891, respectively.

Oil map

Saudi Arabia is a real "oil barrel". The export of these raw materials provides 90% of the country's export revenues, 75% of budget revenues and 45% of the state's GDP. Oil has become for Saudi Arabia not only the main product that boosts the country's economy, but also a serious geopolitical trump card.

Enormous oil reserves were discovered here in 1938, but large-scale development had to be postponed due to World War II. The United States has had its share in the Arab raw materials business since 1933; the Standard Oil Company of California operated in Saudi Arabia.

Without waiting for the end of the war, US President Franklin Roosevelt in February 1945, after the end of the Yalta Conference, held a meeting with Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud. The negotiations took place on board the American warship Quincy in the Suez Canal. Then the so-called “Quincy Pact” was concluded, according to which the monopoly on oil exploration and development was transferred to the United States. Roosevelt, in turn, promised the Saudis protection from external threats.

Oil made Saudi Arabia the richest state in its region; by 1952, Abdul-Aziz had a personal fortune of about $200 million. The United States, in turn, gained good leverage over the oil market.

Rights of women and men

When it comes to Saudi Arabia, one always remembers the strict Sharia laws. Women there have very limited rights. Thus, in Saudi Arabia, a woman is not recommended to appear outside her home without being accompanied by a mahram man (relative, husband); she is prohibited from communicating with other men if they are not mahram. In 2009, the brothers publicly executed two of their sisters for communicating with other men, and in 2007, the father personally executed his daughter because she communicated on Facebook with an unfamiliar man.

Women in Saudi Arabia are required to wear black abayas everywhere; in 2011, religious police also began requiring women to wear public place closed her eyes because they might be too sexy. Men in Saudi Arabia must protect the honor of their family and the honor of their women. There is such a concept as “namus” or “sharaf”, which is translated as honor. By observing namus, a man can himself determine the punishment for a woman who violates ird - the rules of female piety.

To be fair, segregation in Saudi Arabia applies to both women and men. Single men have no less limited rights here than women. All public places are divided into two parts - for families (read "for women") and for men. In most places, entry to single men is in principle prohibited, so socially they are oppressed in their rights no less than women. Women in Saudi Arabia are fighting for their rights and have already achieved success in this matter; they can even occupy political positions.

Executions

The legal system of Saudi Arabia is based on Sharia law; the death penalty in the country is provided for premeditated murder, armed robbery, homosexuality, extramarital (premarital) affairs, religious apostasy, sexual assault, and the creation of groups opposing the government.

Compliance with Sharia law is controlled by the religious police - the Mutawa, which is also called the Sharia Guard. She reports to the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

For various crimes, Sharia law establishes various punishments - from blows and stoning to beheading.

The right to carry out executions in Saudi Arabia is considered honorable; there are still several dynasties of executioners in the country; this skill is passed down through generations. In 2013, Saudi Arabia faced a shortage of personnel; sword bearers are now becoming fewer and fewer, so the forms of execution have also changed.

Mecca and Medina

Saudi Arabia is one of the most closed countries in the world. Staying in the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina for non-Muslims is strictly prohibited by law. You can get to these cities only in groups of pilgrims performing the Hajj. In history, however, there have been cases of violation of these prohibitions.

The first known non-Muslim to visit Mecca was the Italian traveler from Bologna, Ludovico de Vertema, who visited in 1503. Another non-Muslim who visited Mecca was Sir Richard Francis Burton. In the mid-19th century, he made the Hajj from Afghanistan under an assumed name.

A few facts

There are no rivers in Saudi Arabia. Water here is more expensive than gasoline. Magic is officially banned in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, there are nesting dolls on sale, but they are made in accordance with the norms - women wear abayas, men wear tobi and gutri. Saudi Arabia has adopted the Islamic calendar and is currently in the year 1436 Hijri. My favorite sport is football, the national team has been the champion of Asia three times. Getting a visa is not so easy, especially if your passport contains notes about visiting Israel.

Simple female happiness

The world's largest women's prison. This is how journalists dubbed Saudi Arabia. “Women in my country are ignored by their fathers, neglected by their brothers and abused by their husbands,” Jean Sasson writes in her non-fiction book “The Princess: The True Story of Life Under the Veil in Saudi Arabia.”

“Men believe that they are superior beings, and behave accordingly,” explains the writer. “The authority of the Saudi man is limitless. He executes and pardons, and his wife and children will live if only he wishes it.

At home, he represents the highest authority. From childhood, boys are instilled with the idea that a woman has no value and serves only for convenience and pleasure. The child sees the disdain with which the father treats his mother and sisters, and begins, in turn, to treat all members of the opposite sex with contempt, which in the future makes friendly relations with women impossible.

Accustomed from childhood to the role of master, the boy, when the time comes for him to mature, considers his girlfriend to be nothing more than part of his property.

In Arabic, the word hormah, which means woman, is etymologically derived from the word haram, which translates as “sin.” The bestseller about “life under the veil” is often accused by critics of exaggeration and excessive emotionality, but we must pay tribute to the story, which is largely true. Evidence of this is found in other publications.

In the book “In the Dark Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia,” Carmen bin Laden, the wife of Osama bin Laden’s brother, describes the following incident: “One afternoon I was at the market. Due to the heat, a pregnant woman lost consciousness and fell. Her husband rushed over. to her aid, but the religious police were right there.

They attacked him because he tried to touch his wife in the presence of strangers." The so-called textbooks on "Islamic etiquette" are completely shocking. The favorite topic of their authors is the technique of beating wives.

Mohammed Kamal in his book “Woman in Islam” teaches that a spouse should not be beaten with a rod that is too thick, since the blows should bring her, first of all, not physical, but spiritual suffering. He recommends striking sensitive parts of the body: face, chest, head.

Family relations expert Ghazi al-Shimiri, in his work, disputes the opinion of his colleague: he believes that hitting a woman in the face should not be done under any circumstances. His signature advice is that a husband should definitely warn his wife about how many blows he intends to inflict on her.

The author of the opus “On the Subordination of Women in Islam,” Hassan Asha, lists cases in which a husband should give up. For example, when a woman refuses to preen herself before meeting her legal spouse, does not want to satisfy his sexual needs, neglects her religious duties, or leaves home without permission.

Women's rights in Saudi society are based on patriarchal Sharia law, the Quran, the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and tribal laws. Pundits and prominent politicians often cite the life of the Prophet Muhammad to argue that Islam encourages strong women.

As you know, the first wife of the prophet Khadija was an entrepreneur and at one time took the initiative in proposing marriage. Another wife, Aisha, led the army in one of the battles. It is also popular to quote the words of the prophet: “You have rights over your women, and your women have rights over you.”

All Saudi women are required to wear the hijab as a fundamental sign of gender segregation. So that a man (not a husband or a relative) is not tempted by a woman, in public place it should cover all parts of the body except the oval of the face, hands and feet. In some provinces, women are required to cover their faces except their eyes and leave only their hands exposed.

Two years ago, Saudi Mullah Sheikh Abdullah Daoud called for girls to be covered with veils from birth to protect them from sexual harassment. However, other clerics and officials urged the Saudis not to take his recommendation into account, since in their opinion it was “unfair to force children to wear a burqa.”

In the West, the Saudi dress code is usually interpreted as the main symbol of the oppression of women. However, local women campaigning for their rights are considering giving up the abaya as a last resort.

Women in Saudi Arabia are required to live and move outside the home with a mahram male relative or husband. A male caregiver plays an important role in all aspects of a woman's life. Without a mahram's agreement, a woman cannot get married, get an education, get a job, move within the country, travel abroad, open a bank account, or even undergo a planned operation.

Formally, these rules were abolished in 2008, but in fact the practice of having a mahram continues to be present everywhere.

Moreover, among local women there are often supporters of male guardianship. An employee of the Ministry of Education, Noura Aburakhman, said in an interview: “As a Saudi woman, I demand to have a guardian with me.”

A few years ago, another supporter of this phenomenon created a petition “My guardian knows what is best for me,” which managed to collect more than five thousand signatures. However, there are many who are critical of male guardians, arguing that this degrades the dignity of a woman, equating her with a child or a subordinate.

Be that as it may, mahram guardianship allows the women of the Kingdom to avoid any contact with unknown men and maintain their “feminine purity.” Violations of the principles of gender segregation are called "halva", which can amount to a crime, especially on the part of a woman. In 2008, 75-year-old Kamisa Mohammad Sawadi was sentenced to forty lashes and four months in prison for delivering bread to her home from a stranger. In no other country in the world is there such a division between men and women as in Saudi Arabia.

Women do not have the right to use public transport, elevators shared with men, restaurants where separate entrances and exits are specially equipped, as well as separate rooms for couples and men.

Most houses are also divided into two halves. Traditionally, building designs include high walls and small windows covered with curtains in women's quarters to allow them to isolate themselves from the outside world. Sometimes segregation leads to senseless tragedies.

In March 2002, in one of the girls' schools, several dozen students were burned alive only because male firefighters refused to enter the women's premises and take the schoolgirls out of the burning building. Religious police officers who arrived at the scene of the fire prevented the girls from evacuating from the burning building under the pretext that they were “inappropriately dressed.”

From early childhood, girls are taught that they are born solely to support the family hearth, give birth and raise children. A woman can work only with the permission of the mahram, and only on the condition that she does not neglect her family responsibilities.

According to Saudi law, a woman is allowed to work only in strictly designated areas where a female client could avoid unwanted contact with a man. The main areas of work for Saudi women are education and medicine; it is less common to see women working in finance.

Since 2013, women have been officially allowed to work as lawyers. Conservative Saudi citizens, labor ministry officials and religious leaders unanimously insist that the opportunity to work for representatives of the weaker and very oppressed sex is contrary to its nature: " The best place for a woman, her home."

Women in Saudi Arabia make up only 17% of the workforce. For comparison: in the UAE their share is more than 40%. Every second working Saudi woman has higher education. Although it is worth noting that the quality of women's education here is significantly lower than men's.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that completely suppresses any manifestation of women's sports. Until 2008, the country did not represent women at the Olympics, although women's teams exist in the kingdom. It was not until June 2012 that Saudi athletes were allowed to compete in the Olympic Games in England. Just a year ago, the government first sanctioned sports lessons for girls in private schools.

Since 2013, women in Saudi Arabia have been allowed to ride bicycles and motorcycles, which was previously strictly prohibited. Needless to say, female cyclists must be fully wrapped in an abaya and accompanied by a guardian.

However, this rule does not apply to traveling by car. According to local rules, women are not allowed to drive, although this ban is widely violated in rural areas. Due to the fact that women are not allowed to leave the premises unless accompanied by a husband or male relative, the movement of Saudi women throughout the country is very limited.

There is no specific law prohibiting women from driving, but they are not issued state licenses to drive cars. As usual, Saudi scholars and religious leaders consider driving a car by a woman a sin, although nothing is written about this in the Koran.

Professor Kamal Subhi argues that once women get driver's licenses, Saudi Arabia will move closer to moral collapse. According to him, “this rash step will open the door to Satan, will promote the development of homosexuality, pornography, prostitution and divorce, and within ten years all Saudi virgins will die out.” Since the woman herself does not have the right to drive, many are forced to resort to hiring a foreign driver to transport women, which is very expensive for their husbands.

Sometimes it gets to the point of absurdity. In 2010, an advisor to the royal court and the Ministry of Justice issued a fatwa requiring a woman to breastfeed a driver who works for her in order to become related to him. In this case, a male relative will be able to communicate with a woman without violating the laws and serve as a cab driver for her.

Perhaps the worst thing about the lives of Saudi women is that the law does not protect them from domestic violence and gender discrimination. A woman's statements about her husband beating her are not considered evidence of his guilt. A Saudi woman who alleges rape or sexual assault will not only not receive support from the authorities, but will also be accused of provoking the incident, inappropriate behavior or secret sexual relations.

In 2009, a 23-year-old unmarried woman was sentenced to one year in prison and 100 lashes for “adultery” after being the victim of rape and unsuccessfully trying to get an abortion. The spanking was postponed until after the birth. Lawlessness also applies to girls. The world community was shocked by the story of a Saudi preacher who raped and brutally killed his five-year-old daughter. For the murder of the girl, al-Ghamdi faced the death penalty.

However, after he agreed to pay a little more than 182 thousand Saudi riyals (about $48 thousand) to the mother of the murdered woman, the court released him. It is also striking that according to Islamic law, compensation for the death of a female child is half as much as if a boy were killed.

The situation of women in Saudi Arabia is the subject of endless debate. Despite the fact that public relations between women and men in the state are extremely limited, and representatives of the fairer sex have fewer rights than responsibilities, many of them are quite happy with this state of affairs.

Not all Saudi women consider themselves slaves. Under their black abayas, outfits from the best fashion designers and expensive jewelry are often hidden. Their husbands maintain a whole staff of maids to make life easier for their spouses. A properly drafted prenuptial agreement will allow you to avoid poverty after a divorce, which may occur in the event of mistreatment by your husband. The ban on education has long been lifted.

Since 2011, Saudi women have been granted the right to vote. Moreover, in 2013, an active campaign began to stop violence against women. For the first time, the Council of Ministers passed a law prohibiting domestic violence and other forms of abuse of women. And to bypass gender segregation, alternative types of communication with the help of technology and communications have become especially popular. Among the inhabitants of the kingdom, it is now fashionable to meet and communicate via bluetooth.

Saudi women are embracing social media and engaging in pen-pal affairs on Facebook, despite some conservative clerics arguing that Facebook promotes gender confusion and is a "doorway to lust." “Even though the women in my country hide their faces under the burqa, even if they are under the complete control of the patriarchal society in which we live, I believe that this cannot go on forever,” one of the women wrote hopefully.