The summer vacation has just started and will last for two months, including Ramadan. For those two months young men are likely to have nothing on their agenda that could be classed as fun.

“I used to look forward to summer vacations when I was little as I used to go out with my family and have lots of fun activities but I have outgrown them now,” said high school student Abdullah Madani.  “I no longer find playing at the arcades or even riding my bicycle in my backyard as fun now that I’m older. I want to be involved in something more masculine with my male friends.”

He added that any activities he does with his friends are often met with disapproval from people around him, even if they are harmless.

“We need a place to have fun, where we can spend hours not worrying about what families and fathers would think of us,” he added.

Malls in Saudi Arabia are perceived as for families only. Men usually cannot enter without the company of a woman, making it difficult for them to shop.

“I was once told by a religious policeman that shopping was perverted and I should be ashamed for asking them to be let in a mall,” said resident Jameel Saleh.

“He also told me to let my wife or mother do it for me because shopping is for women only and I should behave like a man.”

Security guards at shopping malls think it is unfair to bar men from going to shopping centers.

“I sometimes sneak in some men early in the morning so they can buy what they need from the shops because this is ridiculous,” said a security man at one of Jeddah’s shopping centers.

“Authorities say that men who go inside malls are troublemakers and that’s why they want to stop them from entering in the first place. But that’s the reason we are around, so we can stop trouble from happening. But these are the rules and I cannot do anything about them.”

According to another citizen, Omar Najjar, Saudi men need to have enough money to own their own beach house or private house so they can invite friends over, otherwise they are forced to roam the streets and do nothing.

“My friends and I hang out at coffee shops to play cards or play video games and even that costs a lot of money. By the end of summer I find myself paying around SR5,000 and I did not even have fun,” he said.

“Young men need something more, as our lives have turned into a daily routine that we spend inside the Kingdom. On vacations, it’s like we’re excited that school is over but then we realize that when we were in school we had something to keep us busy. During vacations we’re just bored.”

Parking lots are packed with men who hang out and chat, often annoying families.

“My friends and I tried a couple of times to just hang out by the beach and enjoy the view, getting a small carpet to sit on and play cards,” said high school student Mohammed Taher.

“But every time we go there a religious cop comes and asks us to leave, claiming that we are bothering the families around us. That’s why we then shifted to malls and public parking lots because there are not many families around. Even then they think we are annoying them.

“What do you expect us to do? Where do you want us to go? It’s like they are saying if guys are gathering together then they are up to no good.”

It appears sport is the only activity that Saudi men can enjoy without being bothered by families or policemen.

“All I do on my off days is go to the gym and play football with my friends. Other than that I have nothing to do. I just spend hours playing games and lifting weights so I can pass time and then go home to get some rest and do the exact same thing the next day,” said college student Ahmed Zaki.

“I tried jogging in a public place, but people started staring at me as if to say I had an ulterior motive for being there. I really did not want to flirt or bother the ladies who were walking around. I just wanted to enjoy the sun and jog outdoors for a change.”

Families need to invest in their children’s summer by encouraging them to take courses and attend seminars, according to Dr. Adnan Mufti, consultant psychiatrist and hospital director at the mental hospital in Jeddah.

“Not all young men are interested in investing themselves during the vacation, as they see it as free time and just want to have fun,” he said.

“Saudi society is judging young men according to a previous generation who were annoying people and young women on the street, but that has changed and today’s young men’s free time might lead to bigger problems.”