Once you are in the streets of Jeddah, all sorts of acrobatic and gymnastic skills are needed for survival. Speeding cars must be avoided as well as pedestrians; both think they have the right of way and can do whatever they want to at any time in any place. Then of course we must deal with angry drivers, reckless ones and even amateur drivers who know nothing about driving except how to sit in the driver’s seat!
All of us, male and female, have experienced all of these but we women have an added ordeal which men do not face. There are certain streets and locations in Jeddah where women are subjected to all kinds of unnecessary, illegal and completely uncivilized dangers.
For example, on Tahlia Street, women in cars are regularly followed by young men — and not so young men. Useless for the women to tell their drivers to speed up; the men are thrilled by the idea of the chase itself. Seeing that speed does not discourage the men, the women may pull their veils across their faces, thinking that the gesture indicates their lack of interest, to say nothing of their disgust and anger. At this point, one would expect the young men to give up and go somewhere else. No, they are persistent — in this instance unlike in many others — and begin shouting, laughing, zigzagging around the woman’s car, waving their phone numbers written on large pieces of paper. Finally they will give up and leave the poor woman alone but not before she has been frightened, angered and annoyed. And this is all happening in a public street: A well-used, well-lit public street at that.
This is a scenario that every woman in Jeddah knows. For most, it stops there; others become so angry that they shout at the young men, telling them to be ashamed of themselves and go away. Of course the young men will allow no one to scold them; they answer back, adding insult to injury, and the language they use would make a sailor blush.
How many stories have we heard about this behavior? It has become ordinary and no one will do anything until something worse happens and then people will wonder how such bad behavior could have been allowed. Shall I mention young men who try to walk near girls in shopping centers in order to touch them? In one case, a girl was so angry that she slapped the young man and he then began to insult her in a loud voice! In another shameful incident, a group of women were walking with their children near a big supermarket. A car began to follow them and in order to escape the harassment, they stopped a taxi and got in. The young men continued the chase until one of the women screamed at them to stop. What happened next was a total shock; one of the young men actually hit the woman who shouted at him!
How can we women walk in the street without receiving such degrading treatment? Why don’t the police do something to stop these disgraceful scenes? Some of course will say that the girls ask for it by going out in full make-up, giggling and laughing to attract attention. To them I can only say that girls who do are the same as those who harass them — utterly lacking in family supervision and training. On the other hand, this does not mean that all women should be punished because some families fail to teach their children good manners and decency.
Are women supposed to stay at home, congratulating ourselves because we have escaped harassment? Shouldn’t we face up to it and prove that we have the right to be in the street too? Without being afraid of strange young men who force their attention upon us.
Arab News Features 15 November 2002