One eventually adapts to all of the segregation in Saudi Arabia. Segregation may start within the homes of Saudi families and extends to work places, schools, Universities, banks, hospitals, restaurants and even the public food courts in malls. Whereas most segregated facilities such as schools, universities, banks, hospitals and restaurants may have separate buildings, separate entrances or distinct areas, food courts usually have only a basic partition which separates the genders. By separation of the genders in regards to eateries at food courts in the many malls which abound in Saudi Arabia will typically be a partition where one side is for women only to place orders and the other side of the partition is for men only to place orders. The male wait staff working at the eatery does not change and service both the men and women on either side of the partition.
An observation I have noticed at the food courts is that the women’s side can become quite rowdy. Many women who are donned in hijab, niqqab and abaya consider themselves pretty much anonymous. As a result, they are not shy about demanding to be first or disregarding any queues. They may cut in line ahead of others as if that is their due right. One may observe the male expat workers rolling their eyes or striving to remain patient.
A tactic I have taken when the women’s line is exceptionally busy and rowdy, is to glance around the petition at the men’s side. If it is not as busy, I may feign ignorance and switch over to the other side for service. The majority of the time I am waited upon immediately by courteous and friendly expat staff. They wish to wait on me right away rather than tell me I am on the wrong side of the partition. If there are men waiting to be served, they usually smile and encourage me to go to the head of the line as well, likely thinking I am a new expat to the Kingdom.
This tactic may not be for everyone and should never be attempted if one has spotted any muttawa in the vicinity.
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Any form of segregation in all places, including mosques, is an evil practice that has no place in religions, cultures and definitely not in Islam, which the Saudi monarchs claim to be their guiding light. The Saudi people should reject this malevolent concept that is designed to keep them backward, divided and turn them against each other and against the rest of the world.
Right on Ali.
Eid Mubarak Bedu.
Now Bedu…you have just incresed the lines in on the men’s side of the restaurant queues. lol
I dunno…I am not in KSA but have lived in Bahrain where it is less pronounced I assume.
I am used to the Pakistani way of a “line”–buffet lines are not lines at all–just first come first “serve”. It was quite baffling at first but …..I managed to get a grain of rice for dinner which was ok. I guess.
anthrogeek10
Oh yes, Anthro….I remember so many buffets when I was in Pakistan! Gender did not matter at those times!
Eid Mubarak everyone!
You are right Carol, the women can become like one big black and loud mob all pushing forward to the counter shouting excuse me in a chorus
total mayhem!
While the mens side is empty.
So like you, that is where I head and pretend to not understand what the partition is for. They will much rather serve a polite westerner than a rude saudi woman Ive noticed..
The problem with doing this is that the women will sometimes follow you to the mens section and then you will find yourself stuck in between the mob and the counter.
Its been particularly bad during Ramadan, food courts are so full of people for sahoor time. I wrote a post about it too : http://blueabaya.blogspot.com/2010/08/excuse-me-excuse-me-excuse-me.html
Another annoyance is how much trash and crap they leave lying around behind in the family sections..
I’ve never understood the inconsistency of segregation practices. Male clerks waiting on females (especially in clothing stores where underwear is sold!), men and women sitting together cozily in the coach section of airplanes, male servers in women’s sections of restaurants…
Segregation is maintained vigorously in some sectors, yet ignored in others.
Has anyone ever tried sitting in a men’s section of a restaurant? I did it when I first arrived. A girlfriend took me to a place where she regularly sat in the men’s section. I was appalled, but this particular restaurant had no accommodation for women.
No one paid us the slightest attention. The male patrons, I might add, were mainly of expat Arab origin.
Nevertheless, I was so nervous I could hardly enjoy the delicious meal.
Eid Mubarak to all!!!
Well, neither do I. Never really understood the point of segregation. Was so shocked when I first heard about it. Well…that’s just Saudi being Saudi I guess…
Mileage varies, though- I’ll never forget the time I waited 10+ minutes on the dude side of a Dunkin Donuts because the door to the family side was locked. The men around me ignored me (blessed, blessed feeling, no obnoxious and not-desired ‘chivalry’, no angry ‘not here sayyidati!’). But when I got to the front of the line the guy working the place refused to serve me and made me leave the men’s side, wait for him to unlock the family side, and then wait on the family side for him to finish helping some guys who were behind me on the men’s side before getting to me.
Not the worker’s fault- the wrath of anyone particularly segregation-minded will fall on the SE Asian laborer, not the white girl in the wrong line. But I’ll never forget that morning because it illustrated the inefficiencies associated with keeping up the appearances required for Saudi propriety. All that work, to such little effect. All that effort poured into making sure I go to the crappy “nis’a” window around the corner rather than getting shawarma from the front door.
I actually found it interesting in the window it gave me into my own country’s history. Often I think the racism of Jim Crow south is portrayed in a simplistic fashion- we give contemporary people “outs” by saying things like “well that’s just the way people acted back then.” But think of how much day in day out thought and effort goes into creating and maintaining two classes of service, two classes of citizens, two values for two different groups of human beings. It’s very much a conscious and continuous process and it requires people to want to participate or to feel invested in maintaining the status quo.
The muttawa can only be so many places at once and I saw them sporadically. Most of the time I was chastised in public it was by well-meaning people who had been convinced to buy into the system. They felt invested in maintaining social controls that they derived little benefit from and did not necessarily believe in 100%. Yet for some reason they became the mutawwa of the mutawwa (volunteering for the volunteer police!) and made you go through that metal detector, not this one, or that door not this one, or speak to that person not this one.
V interesting.
Briefly
The point of segregation is politically and sexually motivated. Politically, it’s divide and conquer by the system.
Sexually, it’s to control every aspect of women’s lives and render them nothing more than sex object. It’s like the camouflaging of women in stifling black garment.
It’s time for Saudi women to organize, unite and liberate themselves from the yoke of man’s tyranny.
Emancipation will come at a price, but it’s a price that’s worth paying.
You go girl! Good strategy.
I agree with AliAlyami, also his first comment.
And segregation is a farce anyway.
As long as women have to buy their food, underwear and everything from men, have to spend hours in the car with a male driver…
Suckling the male co-workers on the workfloor…
I have not really witnessed a lot of gender segergation here in the gulf, believe it or not. Kuwait is conservative, but Bahrain pretty much anything goes. I was at a pool the other day a group of teenage boys and girls where, ahhh, being quite explicit. I was so shocked! I am going to polite and not get into details.
I haven’t yet been in situation that is heavily segergated, but from the sounds of it, it can be on comfortable.
Agree Aafke. Somewhat of farce. I have seen the night life in gulf and it is like middle school. Just crazy. Just waitingto see what town is going to be like after Eid. They will be coming in storms over the bridge.