Ladies: It's time to rejoice...FINALLY they get it!

I'm absolutely thrilled with the new initiatives that the Saudi government is taking to get more and more women involved in their workforce. Even if its Saudi women, and not expat I'm still really very happy. I just hope that the magic spreads to places like Riyadh too where we are dying to see some lady workers. Not to mention I feel like dancing at the announcement that all lingerie shop owners have been give 12 months to replace their male attendants with female ones. FINALLY! they get it, if you know what I mean. Though I never got a chance to be involved in the Enough Embarrassment campaign that drove this point home for the Saudi authorities, I just can't seem to thank them enough. No wonder recently I saw a Saudi woman clad in full hijab/abaya at Centrepoint's lingerie section, not to mention the section has a special partition and has been made Women Only. Yippie!

Strange(!!!) but True - Things about Saudi Arabia

• Possibly the only place where you can find a junk food outlet located within a hospital, case in point Dunkin Donuts @ Olaya Medical Centre
• In some Western-dominated compounds women are not just expected but infact required to remove their Abayas
• Women apparently can actually buy cars (yes! register vehicles on their names) BUT just not allowed to drive them (haha!)

Note: This post is most likely going to be another work in progress as I'm confident that I will surely discover more 'strange' and funny things about this place.

Saudi Humour at its Best: "...sports are corrupting and satanic for women"

A senior cleric on Sunday urged the Saudi government to uphold a ban on women's sports in the kingdom in the face of increasing demand to ease the restrictions.

Sheik Abdul Karim al-Khudhair, member of the Council of Senior Scholars said in a statement that sports are "corrupting" and "satanic" for women. Instead, he urged women to stay at home.

In its neighbouring country (aka UAE), local women are graduating as cadet pilots, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and embarking on Mount Everest amongst other things, and here in Saudi Arabia women are being discouraged, not to mention being asked to stay at home!!!

And, what a revelation - sports are devilish!!!

Seriously what will become of this nation? 

Visit to Kingdom Mall (Mamlaka Mall) I - Daytime

It’s been 5+ months since moving to Saudi Arabia, and I’ve got to admit that I’ve been waiting for the chance when I’ll get to see what young Saudi Arabian women/girls look like, in fact while lunching or dining out I’ve even tried to catch a glimpse of any Saudi woman eating close by (they sometimes remove the veil from their faces while eating) but rather unfortunately haven’t had much success thanks to the barriers/separators at their tables.

But my very recent visit to Kingdom Mall (aka Mamlaka Mall) during daytime did not disappoint me in fact it became a strange surprise. Me and my (girl) friend decided to go in for some shopping to Kingdom Mall on a weekday (by the way it was my 1st visit to the mall). So we get there and lo behold! what do I see...I see young beautiful Arab women strutting their Gucci, D&G, Cartier accessories (and whichever other highly priced brand you want to add to the list). Now you must think: are these so-called brands my way of judging their beauty? Well, of course NOT. The thing is these young girls or women though were donning their designer black robes aka abayas they had no veils on their faces, not to mention they weren’t wearing any headscarves either. That’s how I could tell their elegantly styled locks and their even attractively painted faces. What I couldn’t decide was if they were expat Arabs or of Saudi origin, though from their Arabic accents they did seem Saudi. Regardless, I was pleased.

I’m sure anyone else who would’ve or could’ve caught a few glimpses during lunch hour would’ve been pleased too (mind you! there are separate sections for single men and families/women).

P.S- my husband is of the view that there is nothing called free speech, and I can't help but agree. That's why I had to edit alot of details of this post despite having seen alot more. Like they say: somethings are better left unsaid...

Saudi men told how to stop flirting, harassing women - Newsrelease from March 28, 2010

For the lack of words!!!!! "Saudi men told how to stop flirting, harassing women"...I mean I'd love to know who's line is this (anyway).

I broke out laughing when I read this newsrelease. For me the story isn't as much of a shock as is the ridiculous title!!!

Like seriously...get a life!