Seems like my previous post did not get sumbitted yesterday. I wanted to elaborate on Sharia law. I've spent a good deal of time (20_ years) wandering and working around the ME. The first thin you lear is that Sharia Law is a set of guidelines founded in Islam. It's very protective of women. But, how one interprets those guidelines and enforces them is where the differences come in. Like with Christian faiths, from the fundamentalists to the Christian Alpha Course, there is a wide range of practices of Islam and by extension Sharia law. Sharia law is not uniformly practiced even within a country. Saudi, because they are the keepers of the Kobal, feel a need to be very conservative. However, as BB pointed out before, there is Jeddah and at the other extreme is Jubaila, a ultra funamentalist area NE of Riyadh. What stirkes you when you stop in Jubaila is that there are NO women on the street or in shops. Women are not allowed to go outside the home. I guess there perception is that if the woman remains at home they will be safest there. .. Well, I have some thoughts about why that excuse is given. That is the worst you see here and to women accustomed to freedom, this is oppressive. However, changes are under foot.
ATAMCO, the largest employer throughout the country is quite conservative. This is where I still get internet searches blocked if I were to search on photography, or sexy, or any number of red-flag words on their list. Outside, in town, those searches are not blocked, so it is clearly a company policy. Ten years ago, there was not a single Saudi female employee in the Company. Today the place is bustling with women in every department. I'm still getting used to seeing young Saudi women geologists come to the core facility. So it is all about interpretation and practice. Oh, one more thing. Abu Dhabi. I worked there in 2003. After so many years in Saudi, I was absolutely stunned when I went to the mall there. SHopping was a mother an her teen age daughter. Mother was fully covered, only her eyes were visible. Daughter walking along side of her wore tight-fitting cutoffs and a rather tight tank top. The contrast was almost more than I could handle and had to force myself not to stare. And speaking of Abu Dhabi women, this incident certainly is telling. My Egyptian friend was taking me home to his flat for dinner with his family. A woman and her family waited for the elevator with us. WHen it arrived, she got in and I was going to go in as well. Hani grabbed my arm and told me to wait. He explained that all a woman needs to do is say that I was impolite and I'd get arrested. Sharia as practiced can be very friendly towards women. Its the men you need to watch out for.
