Job Discussion Forums

[teachr11]

My female westerner friend is looking for a compound that allows Saudis to enter. Any suggestions?

[nomad soul]

In what city?

[scot47]

She will find it difficult to get a place that takes single foreign females and allows Saudi - or other - males to visit.

[trapezius]

Anybody can visit any compound, as long as a resident has left their name at the gate.

However, if a Saudi male regularly visits a single compound-dwelling female, some people might get suspicious and tip off the police or religious authorities. Not likely, but can happen and have heard of something similar happening in Riyadh. Jeddah is safer in this regards.

[teachr11]

[scot47]

Cleo - who seems to have disappeared from this forum - had some stories about the apartment block where she lived in the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh. Ask her !

[veiledsentiments]

Cleo seems to be avoiding Dave's for now.

I have heard tales of some women who did have male visitors of varying nationalities and ended up losing their jobs over it. To be honest, having local male visits can cause an expat female problems anywhere in the Gulf. When I had private students, I never allowed them to come to my flat, but met them at their homes or their place of employment.

But our OP merely said "Saudis" and didn't specify that they were male. Is there any compound that doesn't ever allow the local population to enter? That would seem a bizarre idea.

VS

[scot47]

BAe certainly made it difficult for Saudis to get in. I do not know if it was a total ban though.

[rdobbs98]

If she is bringing a Saudi male in she is setting herself up to be deported or jailed. Plus the Saudi will be in trouble too, like lashing i.e. their law. Why go through with this when you know the rules. Learn to play their game and there is no problem.

[scot47]

The assumption will be that she is a "sharmuta". End of story.

[veiledsentiments]

Of course, many will assume that merely as a female living alone in a foreign country... no matter who does or doesn't visit.

But, I'd say that if this situation is a foreign woman who wants to go there to relate to a Saudi boyfriend as she did back "home" - she is making a HUGE ... and I mean HUGE... mistake.

If marriage is her goal and he doesn't marry her before she arrives and bring her back to his family, he is the one that considers her a "sharmuta" and the laws of Saudi will also treat her as such. If she thinks that heading there will encourage him to marry her, I can guarantee that she is wrong...

VS

[scot47]

For those who have had a sheltered life in the Middle East and whose ears have not heard such words -

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sharmuta

[johnslat]

Dear scot47,

Bit of a typo, I think, in definition Number 3: ". . . . or slat."

I certainly hope that the "a" should be a "u."

You didn't write Number 3, did you?

Regards,

John slat

[trapezius]

Dear John Slat,

Perhaps the definition is referring to you...?!

Regards,
trap

[spiral78]

Everyone seems to be assuming that the woman in question wants to be able to entertain male Saudis, but I don't actually see any evidence of this.

There are other possible scenarios.

For example, perhaps she's an evangelical Christian and hopes to spread the word to some Saudi women, whom she will entertain in her home for the purpose.

(I reckon this would be little - if at all- more acceptable than entertaining men for profit, though!).

Or perhaps she wants to open a small day-care centre for Saudi children in her spare time.

I'd be curious to know more from the OP on this
teachr11, are you still with us?