Moving to Saudi Arabia

techsavysista

I'm a pretty independant women. I drive, work and am very creative.

My fiance wants me to move to Saudi Arabia with him and I wonder what you guys think, if Ill be able to hack it, as a muslim who's lived in Ireland all her life?

irishconvert

techsavysista wrote: »

I'm a pretty independant women. I drive, work and am very creative.

My fiance wants me to move to Saudi Arabia with him and I wonder what you guys think, if Ill be able to hack it, as a muslim who's lived in Ireland all her life?

I would avoid it like the plague. Apart from Makkah and Madina, it is a very bad place to live for both men and women, but especially women. It is an oppressive dictatorship and very far from how a true Islamic country should be run.

Very bad idea for a woman regardless of your religion

you cant even do something so basic as open a bank account without his permission

techsavysista

bluewolf wrote: »

Very bad idea for a woman regardless of your religion

you cant even do something so basic as open a bank account without his permission

What!? Seriously...

There must be some good things about it...

techsavysista

techsavysista wrote: »

What!? Seriously...

There must be some good things about it...

I think some of the local women think that having to have a male guardian every time you step outside the house is a good thing
I wouldn't
If things don't work out with him (I assume you'd have to marry first or you won't be allowed anywhere near him) how are you ever going to manage to leave?

in 2009 a woman wanted to get married "outside her tribe", the dad was having none of it because all her wages from work got paid into his bank account, and i think that was the case where he had her committed to a mental institution as punishment

do you want to risk getting lashed for everything?

In July 2011 a woman from Jeddah was sentenced to ten lashes by whip for driving a car

Go somewhere like UAE instead

wes

Saudia Arabia is pretty bad for Human Rights in general, and especially bad for Women. For example, Women can't drive cars, which is a rule unique to Saudi Arabia.

Also, I had an Uncle who worked there (my family are Kashmiri Muslims), and he experienced a great deal of racism in that country, and was pretty badly treated, when he worked there.

Stheno

Why does your fiance want to move to Saudi Arabia?

Are you both Muslim?

oceanclub

On the Global Gender Gap report, it comes 5th last for women:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Gender_Gap_Report

By comparison Ireland is 5th from the top.

(Mali was already 4th last _before_ the recent control of the northern part by Islamists.)

P.

irishconvert

wes wrote: »

Saudia Arabia is pretty bad for Human Rights in general, and especially bad for Women. For example, Women can't drive cars, which is a rule unique to Saudi Arabia.

Also, I had an Uncle who worked there (my family are Kashmiri Muslims), and he experienced a great deal of racism in that country, and was pretty badly treated, when he worked there.

Yes they are very racist generally. If you are not Arab you are not going to do very well, you will be on a much lower salary and you cannot own property. I have a friend there who is Pakistani. He held a top position in a hospital but was on a salary one tenth that of his Saudi born colleagues. Despite his high status position he could only afford to rent a very basic flat for his family and him.

Stheno

irishconvert wrote: »

Yes they are very racist generally. If you are not Arab you are not going to do very well, you will be on a much lower salary and you cannot own property. I have a friend there who is Pakistani. He held a top position in a hospital but was on a salary one tenth that of his Saudi born colleagues. Despite his high status position he could only afford to rent a very basic flat for his family and him.

The bizarre difference there is in terms of contract workers.
They do have to live in the "foreign compounds" but earn a small fortune, even women. I know a few IT contractors who float in and out of SA.

@ OP if you are not married, you will not be able to live together.
If you end up living with his family (not sure that would be allowed as you are not married) you will only be allowed out with a familial male escort so not sure how that would work either.

You will not be able to drive. Your freedom will be very restricted.

irishconvert

techsavysista wrote: »

bluewolf wrote: »

Very bad idea for a woman regardless of your religion

you cant even do something so basic as open a bank account without his permission

What!? Seriously...

There must be some good things about it...

Good points is it's easy to practise Islam, doing your daily prayers, etc. You can visit Makkah and Madina as often a you like. You can do lots of umrah and a Haaj or two! All food is Halal. there is no riba, alcohol, etc. Cost of living is low. Crime is low. But you can get most of those benefits in other Muslim countries.

irishconvert

techsavysista wrote: »

I'm a pretty independant women. I drive, work and am very creative.

My fiance wants me to move to Saudi Arabia with him and I wonder what you guys think, if Ill be able to hack it, as a muslim who's lived in Ireland all her life?

Why does he want to move there?

halkar

They will not let you in as his fiance.

Standman

One of the last places a self-described independant and creative woman should move to is Saudi Arabia, being that the things you mentioned about your character are actively and widely restricted in that country. Basically a woman is treated like a child in the eyes of the law, which is a mashup of ancient tribal customs and sharia.

It depends a lot on what kind of family your partner comes from. Are they conservative or liberal, are they tribal etc. For a woman in Saudi most of the restriction on their lives comes from their guardian, so an awful lot depends on what he is like and what influences him. Outside of that you will only be able to socialise with other women and mahram men to a lesser extent. There are no cinemas and there are few if any recreational amenities depending on where you are living. Social activities of women seem to mostly consist of shopping, going to restaraunts, meeting in female friends houses and going to weddings. Everything is segregated and you will have to wear the abaya in public, although you probably know that already.

I have heard that Jeddah is the least restrictive place in Saudi in that the religious policing is relatively lax there, but again that's irrelevant if you are already being policed heavily by your guardian.

Good things about it from a practicing Muslim perspective have already been outlined by Irishconvert, otherwise I would say you could look into doing some sightseeing around some of the historical areas and beautiful places in Saudi.

booom

i think you should go. are you not supposed to go there at some stage in your life anyway? if anything, you could use the experience (assuming you come back) to educate people about life in saudi.

iCosmopolis

That would be for Hajj, and from experience from my lot it's done on a package deal these days pretty much?