Jul
i heard not all states in saudi require women to wear veil (niqab@covering de face) coz ill be moving to saudi for job soon…. and is it true the rule of women cant drive already been demolish? tq
Answer:
You dont have to wear a face veil anywhere there now..
I am living in Khobar the eastern province (we dont have states, we have provinces).. Its way more liberal minded in the Eastern area and the western area of Jeddah…
Now Riyadh is a tiny more concervative, but they’re opening up and resting somewhat.. When I visited Riyadh last month and walked the malls.. I saw many women not even wearing a scarf.. their hair was left uncovered, No one was bothering them.. I myself wear a scarf, but no face veil… There are plenty of traditionalists who do, but you can now walk freely without one and no one bothers you..
If you do however go out to some of the older more traditional suks (old shopping street markets out of town) you might want to bring a veil just in case.. cause they hold onto their culture more, but if you’re a foreigner they usually are forgiving of you and wont bother you, if you’re trying to be respectful and wearing a scarf, they’ll accept you for this..
welcome! ^_^
Answer:
If, as a woman, you value your skin's quality, take one anyway; the sun is brutal. A lot of Arab girls choose to go with the Islamic dress code not so much because of religious rules you know; covering oneself head to foot in a loose dress is best protection against the brutal desert sun. More for practical reasons, many non-muslim foreign workers do it. At least from what I was told. Also lately they’ve been revising the rules; according to Islamic law, a woman is supposed to cover her curves, and her hair, and that's it, she's not supposed to be a walking tent. There are all kinds of ways a woman can cover her curves without going underwraps, even though again, because of the heat…
Regarding the driving thing I think that’s still true.
Answer:
As Mintee said, you don't have to wear a veil. All what you’ve to do is to wear abaya to cover the body only.
Yes, women can't drive here yet. But there’s a compound for a huge company called Saudi Aramco, women are allowed to drive their own cars and walk with no abaya or hijab. But you got to be working with aramco to be eligible to live in the camp. The camp is very large and people need vehicles to commute to work.
Don't worry, people here are friendly and they’re welcoming you. Don't bother your self with the false rumors spreading in the internet.
Answer:
still you don't see women drive,but eventually they will do …as for veil ,,It isn’t officially required .. Don’t over do your make up so you’ll get less gaze from men eyes …As for the locals ..ladies can easily be recognized by their look or their dress ..Religious police go after those.. In rare occasion in some malls in the capital Riyadh local girls get notified by the the religious police to cover their face..But,, R.police are getting less acceptance nowadays from public because of the way they interfere in people lives… You get to see improvements in this regard ,,Good luck in your stay in Saudi,,It is a nice place ,,,
Answer:
well, jeddah really is like the most open city in saudi, girls there don't even cover their heads in malls.
Answer:
first of all let me welcome you to our country and wish you a pleasant productive and “positive” stay…
ok, now i have to tell you that no one is “required” to cover up…the women who do that do it for two reasons: they’re from a family or area that requires a veil as part of its culture, or they follow a more strict interpretation of the islamic faith.
saudi arabia doesn't have separate says, we have provinces that follow one set of laws and restrictions throughout the country. the provinces of saudi arabia are different culturewise from each other, i'm from jeddah..a coastal city in the hijaz area in the west…our area is considered more “forigners friendly” as i heard some refer to it…we're a blend of all different sorts of races and nationalities (due to immigration or pilgrims coming to the two holy cities and deciding to stay) and our culture is a mix from all of those in addition to the originals. women here don't cover up..many don't wear any head scarves either…it's quite normal….segrigation between men and women in this part of saudi isn’t significant…not enough to cause inconvienience or frustration most of the time..
other parts of saudi aren't like that, areas like Najd: the central region of saudi is more strict when it comes to these issues. women there cover up all the way (although recently, i've noticed this to ease up a bit), religious police called “mutawa” still roam the streets and malls (i haven't seen one of them in jeddah for over 15 years now…maybe more), and segrigation is quite a bit an issue….the culture there’s quite “over protective” of women to an extent it's offending and insulting, at least in my thought (i'm a practicing muslim saudi and i try my ideal to limit my visits to riyadh cause it upsets me and frustrates the hell out of me…sorry to say)
the eastern province is somewhere in between i guess (although i heard Dammam is quite like riyadh) with the cities of Khobar and dhahran being the closest to the atmosphere in jeddah (not quite though, i just moved there from jeddah and i still find it difficult to adjust)
i can't comment on other parts of saudi (north and south) i still haven't been there myself…
regarding the driving thing everyone is so hooked up on: trust me, when you come here and see how the streets, traffic and driving are you wouldn't want to drive…having a dedicated driver will be one of the greatest blessings (trust me, you'll enjoy handing him over the boring tasks of dropping off and picking up the laundry, worry about finding parking and even do some grocery shopping for ya while you’ve a nice brunch with a couple of friends..lol)
however, yes it is true…laws are being “cooked up” and “ready to serve” in this matter…latest thing i heard is that women above certain age will be driving by mid or late 2009 (with some restrictions on the hours i guess) but i can't personally confirm anything…
hope i helped…tc
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