My wife and I went to one of the biggest shopping centers in Riyadh. The place was full of shops, famous brand names, designer clothing, perfumes, watches, fancy restaurants, romantic lighting, mobile phones, and lingerie.
I noticed that security guards at the mall were adamant about not allowing single men inside.
We were shopping in preparation for travel. The place was brimming with women being attended by young, good-looking non-Saudi men. The salesmen were smooth-talkers with attractive smiles gazing dreamily while addressing the lady shoppers. The women I’ve seen shopping are usually beautifully dressed, attracting everyone’s attention. Some seem to be simply there to saunter and show off their beauty rather than shop.
And then I wondered: We forbid Saudi single men from entering some of these malls while giving women a charming atmosphere to interact with non-Saudi single salesmen. How generous we are.
Many think that by forbidding Saudi men from entering shopping malls we are protecting women from harassment or flirting. But these handsome, polite, well-spoken non-Saudi salesmen are a bigger threat, especially when they are allowed to work in lingerie shops, advising women on the best sexy underwear.
What is it that really makes us stop Saudi men from going wherever they wanted and allow non-Saudi men to do as they please? Do we do this out of jealousy? Do we think we are being gentlemanly when we do this? Do we not trust Saudi men? If so, then why not hire women to deal with women and not with salesmen who spend their time dressing up trying to impress their customers.
I was perplexed by what I saw and my wife even told me that some Saudi women prefer to deal with a Lebanese or Syrian salesman than a Saudi. We are providing them with the perfect environment to do as they please so we must seriously reconsider this issue because these jobs are suitable for women more than anyone else.
