I have heard a lot about Saudi Arabia before actually going there. And I was curious. Very curious.
So I took the chance to travel to Saudi Arabia for business-reason, to meet my colleagues face-to-face. Maybe they would become more cooperative then...
Preparation for Saudi Arabia was already an adventure: they said I needed pass-photos. Since I knew that I would have to wear an abaya (the black dress of the muslim women in Arab countries) and probably also the black scarf on my head, I was not sure whether to have the photo for the visa taken with scarf or without. So I took both options. It turned out that any "regular" pass-photo would have done the job as well...
Some colleagues of mine were applying for their visas at the same time and when we got our papers back, the visas showed different durations and different numbers of entries. Mine was for a single-entry and 30 days only, the others were single-entry and 3 months or multiple-entry with even longer validity. When asked for the background, I was told, the visa granted depends on age, sex and marital status of the applicant. Unmarried, young ladies get the shortest possible visa - if approved at all. Apparently the Saudi government was fearing I could try to marry into the kingdom...
So far, so good!
The next challenge was getting an abaya - without spending a fortune on a piece of cloth I would only wear once in my life! So I skipped all the malls were you can get fancy (and overpriced) abayas made of silk and went to the Souk at the Creek of Dubai. Being a tall woman made it a bit difficult to find a suitable abaya, as it should also cover your ankles, but in the end I was lucky and got the dress plus the scarf for AED 120.
In Dubai none of the foreign women wears an abaya, so I would have felt misplaced if I had to go to the airport all covered up. Thus, the logical question was: when to dress up appropriately for Saudi Arabia? I was given the instruction that I should board the plane in my regular clothes, and as soon as the plane approached the destination-airport in Saudi Arabia, I would notice that all women would start looking in their bags for their abayas and then just wrapping up on their seats. I should to the same.
That was easy!
Except for the scarf-part...
I had practiced at home to fix the scarf on my head, but the cloth was silky and it would only stay on my head for a maximum of 10 seconds. Later on I figured, that most women are using some kind of "sock", that they put on their head as to make the scarf stick better to their heads. I didn't have that and after several failed attempts on the plane, I was happy knowing that Jeddah would not be as strict as Riyadh regarding the scarf. So I wrapped the scarf only casually around my head and throat to pass the passport-check and out we were!
"We" consisted of a female colleague and me. We were picked up by our (male) colleague and brought to the hotel. Later we were told that a couple of years ago, or even now in Riyadh, this would not be acceptable. Women may only be driven by their male relatives or a designated driver. Oh! Yes! Women are not supposed to drive! It is forbidden for women to drive. They neither get a license, nor a car. As such, the mobility of a woman in Saudi Arabia is really limited. This is why most families (who can afford to) live in large, more or less luxurious compounds. These compounds usually include supermarkets, restaurants, pools and other entertainment-facilities to keep women busy.
Next day in the office I met my (male) colleagues. Some of them were reluctant or even refused to shake my hand as it is quite common not to touch any woman unless you are married or related to her.
Another difference to Dubai was prayer-time. Whereas the office in Dubai has a particular room which serves as prayer-room, the colleagues in the Jeddah-office used the corridors. During prayer-time was impossible to step out of any of the rooms.
But the biggest difference I only noticed when the need for a restroom became rather urgent. I was looking for the ladies' and I could not find it! I was desperate!
Finally a colleague told me that there are only a few ladies working in the office (for a hotline on baby-milk, of course) and they would have a secluded working area which even required a special key-card. Finding one of these cards was another odyssey, but I managed in time.
Conclusio of my visit: Saudi Arabia is a very male-dominated country, with very limited freedom, rights and (job-) opportunities for women. Even though most men emphasize how "protected" and safe their women are in this country, I seriously doubt I would enjoy an extended stay. This trip once again showed me how lucky I can consider myself being born and raised in a country like Austria with freedom of speech, access to proper education and similar opportunities for men and women.
