i was born and raised in saudi, never lived anywhere else. i was born and lived most my life in my tribe’s village but moved to riyadh 2 years ago for college, i’m a physiotherapy student and i just finished my first year. ask me anything
i’m a saudi arabian girl living in saudi arabia. ama
r/AMA
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Please tell people here it is not that bad there! at least in big cities.
How has women’s rights progressed in your lifetime? Do you feel as though there’s been enough progress?
Will you be able to do physio in your village when you finish school?
I worked in Riyadh in 1990 and 1991 and I remember being shocked by how few rights women had then: I’m glad it’s improved. Presumably there is a long way to go to achieve equality with men?
Do you feel that western media portray Saudi badly? What do you like the most and the least about your country? What do you think about death penalty? According to you how big is the impact of religion in your daily life? Thank you
What kind of restrictions do you have due to being a woman? Is it mainstream for women to go to university?
When finished I assume you won’t be able to treat/touch men? Are there clinics where women only work that treat only women?
Do you guys perform hajj or umrah more often ? How’s your relationship with the Qur’an and Sunnah ?
Are your classes co-ed? Can you work with male patients?
Have you ever had an African maid? How was it? I hear Saudis and MEs in general are horrible people. Any experiences?
Where in saudi arabia are you from? Which part of saudi do you like?
I’ve visited for Umrah and planning to go to Jeddah in September and complete Umrah again.
My questions: I’ve heard that tribes in Saudi are known for certain things, e.g. one tribe is known for their generosity. Is your tribe known for something if that’s the case.
Also, what are your thoughts on marrying outside of your tribe, I’ve read different opinions on the Saudi sub.
What are your plans for the future?
do you plan to do an exchange semester or pursue a master in an another country
What’s your favorite Saudi dish? What’s your favorite Saudi dessert? I started making chicken kabsa for my husband last year and we make it every couple of weeks now.
Do you support or oppose equality for gay people (yes, that includes their ability to marry each other)
how did you learn english?
What do you think about how Western woman dress? Are TV shows / movies where woman are scantily dressed limited or restricted in Saudi?
How big is your tribe? How does tribal / village living differ from city living? How much of your identity is Tribal vs. Religious vs. Saudi?
How much do tabloids write/gossip about the royal family? How much does the general public care about the royal family? Who is your favourite royal?
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Hey I study Athletic Therapy which is basically sports physiotherapy. I’m from Ireland. I just finished first year too and we did a lot of palpation work with both males and females in the class. How is it with you over there? Would you be mingling with males for such stuff?
My sister lived in SA for a couple of years due to her husband’s work. She always talked about the locals being disrespectful, trashing the places. In one instance, a man thrown starbucks cup full of some drink to the street. What do you think about this kind of behavior?
How is life in Riyadh, I heard it’s good life there
Do you ever see Saudi becoming much more westernized and progressive like UAE? I know there has been some progress under MBS, but still a long way away
How are lgbt treated, if I was a traveler and in casual conversation that I was gay would people be disgusted or would I be in physical or legal danger?
I think it’s great that you come from a non-strict, non-religious culture/background. What rights do women who come from strict cultures have, though? What happens if a woman’s family is very strict and religious, wouldn’t encourage her to get education, and pressure (almost blackmail) her to get married & have kids? What options do such women have?
I suppose it would be nice to know what options do men who come from similar families have. By the end of the day, not everyone wants to do what their parents are pushing onto them. Not everyone wishes to have a family either.
Saudia Arabia is trying to get a lot of foreigners in to work open business’s etc. How do the locals feel about that?
How does the guardianship system affect your life, if so?
Thoughts on Palestine. Why does Saudi don’t allow Palestinian refugees? A friend, ex-Muslim from Saudi, said they are trouble, not all but most of them. Do you know any atheist, like ex-Muslim or is it illegal?
How do you feel about Yemenis?
What is your view on western culture getting imported in saudi like concert and rave nights , and like modelling in sacred places
I went for hajj (2022) and it was super hot that i barely functioned (I’m from south east asia right under the equator). How do you overcome the heat since it was hot 24h without respite.
How when and where do you exercise. Can you wear long pants showing your bum when exercise outdoor?
How often do people wash their abaya? Normally how many pieces does a lady have. What kind of material is comfortable (tips and tricks to choose).
Is it colorful and full-motif abaya common now ? I mostly saw black.
Thanks.
Do you ever go to secret parties? Is there alcohol?
how strict is Sharia Law in Saudi Arabia, and how religious are the ordinary citizens? also unrelated but how popular is kpop there?
Not a Saudi but grew up and spent most of my life in Riyadh. No question but wish you all the best 🙂
I can also recommend the restaurant ذوق المذاق on Abu Bakr Assiddiq road, best shawarma in the world.
Recommend me good food spots in riyadh please, and things to do there! Am visiting in a few weeks!
Since when have you been learning English?
Or consuming english content.
Do you feel like the presence of Wahhabism is still very strong in Saudi? If so, even after the arrival of Bin Salman, do you feel like they have a strong presence in politics or even among the population? How do you personally feel about them?
What is the top 5-10 biggest things you wish Americans and more western countries would understand about Saudi?
Do you believe that America and Saudi can have a wonderful relationship with one another and what advice do you have for people who want to explore there and see the beauty?
How does marriage work in your tribe/culture? As a woman, are you allowed to get married to a non Saudi or even outside of your tribe?
ليش تبغى ترضي الغرب لهالدرجة؟ الله عطاك نبي، وثقافة عظيمة، وأكل طيب، ونعمة. كل اللي هنا في ريديت ضايعين ومنحرفين. ليش تبغى ترضي الشر والله أعطاك أشياء عظيمة؟ تبغى صاحب؟ تبغى تشرب كحول زي الغربيين؟ افتخر بثقافتك. ما تحتاج تبرر نفسك للناس اللي سببوا شر كثير لفلسطين وللمسلمين الأبرياء حول العالم.
I’m very interested in ancient and medieval history, is there any places you would recommend to visit?
Are there any Shia Muslims or Christians who actively participate in society or in your studies ? Do you ever interact with them at school or in everyday life ?
I find the tribal society/community to be very interesting.
How does the tribes distinguish form
each? Is there any power struggle between tribes (I know this was for a fact a thing before the creation of the modern SA). How does the balance get uphold between the tribes and the roles of SA.
Are there any loyalty ceremonies performed to the rollers, or does tribe members get to marry different royal family members to uphold balance?
As you may observe I am super clueless in my text, however I am very curious and I do not really mean any disrespect 😊
You mentioned religious police have less power. Which is good because they were extreme. However how are the religious teachings there now? You mentioned you learnt fiqh, was it hanbali school? Are they tolerant to the other madhab’s? Hanafi, Shafi etc?
I’m interested in your school experience. What is campus life like? Are there dorms for students to stay in, or do students usually stay in apartments off campus? What is the quality of those dorms? How big is your campus? Are there programs from the university specifically for students to have fun/get involved with campus life? Do you have school pride? Are there sports teams at your school? How do you perceive the quality of education you are getting? Is it expensive to be in university in Saudi? I’m so curious! Thank you!
A 52-year-old male warehouse worker presents with dull thoracic back pain for 3 weeks. No trauma. No neurological signs. Spinal ROM is full and non-provocative. Pain is not relieved by rest or movement. Wakes him up at night. Reports 5kg weight loss, mild fatigue, and occasional low-grade fevers. Smoker (30 pack-year).
What do you do first?
What do you think of the development work done around the Kaaba in Mecca over the past few decades, especially the Clock Tower etc?
As a non-Muslim who always thought photos of the Kaaba during Hajj looked beautiful, I was pretty horrified to see the way that development seems to have changed the character of the place. The Clock Tower skyscraper, to my eyes, is just an ugly bit of Disney Stalinist architecture looming over a very sacred place.
But part of me wonders whether that is just my limited perspective on the issue. I’ve heard people say that a lot of locals regard the original buildings as Ottoman, and therefore a reminder of being colonized. I know there is also an argument that getting hung up on the look of the place could be seen as idolatrous. And of course, Mecca just has to find a way to accommodate a large and growing number of pilgrims, so maybe it’s the only way to do it.
Do you have any views on this?
What have you heard about the Women’s Correctional Facility in your city? Do you know anyone that’s been unjustly imprisoned there? The case of Dina Ali Lasloom brought the place to my attention years ago when her case made international news.
Edit: Sorry, I have a particular interest in stuff like this because I’m a criminal justice / law major 🩷 we talk about national and international cases of all kinds
Thanks for doing this AMA.
What’s the awareness or interest in politics amongst Saudi girls / women? Do you have a say in electing representatives (I understand it’s a kingdom, but at local level, is it all king/rulers all the way down to villages?).
Are the Mutawa still a big deal? I remember them giving a fellow soldier grief for having an earring when we were in downtown Riyadh a number of years back… I told him it was a stupid thing to do. Tons of “Shabab” kept riding by and making fun of him.
What’s your perspective on the 2030 vision? Is it something which is a genuine goal everyone in the country is striving towards? Has it shifted the daily mindset and routine of people? Although Saudi (especially Riyadh) has aggressively implementing a more western culture, is this something everyone agrees with locally? For expats moving to Riyadh would you say they get along well with the locals/vise versa?
(Asking these questions as I may be moving to Riyadh soon from a Western Europe country.
I expected most of the comments will be like “Are you oppressed? Please tell me you’re oppressed”. Did not disappoint. That being said, how’s the living cost in Saudi? Can you eat/sleep reliably? Here in the US it’s been getting tougher and tougher not to be homeless.
What is the average Saudi’s opinion of foreign workers? My understand is that Westerners (example: American, Irish, English, etc.) are treated and paid much better than Asian and Indian populations.
Hello from Israel!
What’s your thoughts on the recent escalation between Israel and Iran?
Hello from Turkey. I am also officialy a müslim, so i am curious about some stuff;
1- what if i ve founded drinking in my hotel room , or work Office with beer or whisky. What is procedure? Is it deport? Death? Or shunning or something?
2- i work as a university teacher, and here hijab was a big issue. ( Girls who wore it not allowed into campus, till 2000s) Sounds crazy i know. But government did it saying; we dont wanna turn into İran or saudi Arabia ( sorry, not my words, dont kill the messenger i guess 😁) so if i had a girlfriend of me from Turkey and her hair is not covered, can we hang around?
I want to ask, what type of content is more popular in Saudi Arabia—movies, TV shows, or something else?
I’ve noticed that many Arabs are part of the K-pop fandom, so I was curious.
Also, I heard that MBS has allowed alcohol in the country (though this might be misinformation).
How does the general public perceive him?
Is it true that the oil money is only shared amongst the royal family and select elites. The rest of the country is largely poor?
Are there any believers in Jesus out there ?
I’m going to umrah for the first time end of July! Any advice for a woman traveling with women friends? Any good places to buy clothes? I don’t have many abayas bc I live in the US and was hoping to find something affordable in Saudi inshalla. Any good places to eat near Mecca?
I’ve been to Saudi Arabia many times. I’m brown skinned and often go with colleagues who are white. I notice Saudi’s treat white people significantly different than brown people. I find Saudi people to be extremely rude and unhelpful towards people of my skin colour. What makes Saudi’s feel so superior to everyone else?
What is the domestic propaganda regarding the case of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist and dissident that was assassinated and dismembered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018?
I used to work in riyadh in the 90’s .. does souq Almutanabbi still exist?
are scholarships for international students available in saudi? say for muslim females ? as in have u heard of, or met any international female who was on 100% scholarship?
have you been to any other countries? what are your top three on your list!
i love hashi basha! i became obsesssed, so tasty. they should expand world wide.
is there a better place you recommend?
saudi feels like a big muslim Texas, lots of trucks/suvs, big grocery stores, krispy kreme, it feels like US suppliers built out much of the infrastructure..roads, signs etc.
people are super friendly, would be waaaay safer for a woman than in India, or many parts of EU, US.
if you don’t drink, it’s amazing there, architecture is worse than even US.
i wish there was more attention given to Bedouin culture, they don’t seem to promote it. Show me more Bedu textiles, camels, etc(that was my feeling)
my favorite is the Camel festival, outside Riyadh
Do they ever teach you about the pre-Islamic polytheists of Mecca and their pantheon of gods in school or university? And I mean actual studying of them, rather than the Islamic history of them being evil people who practiced human sacrifice which has been disproven by academics?
What percentage of Saudi Arabian female population do you think use Reddit?
I’ve heard that saudis are pretty racist towards non-arabs (muslims) is that true? If yes then why so
R u a muslim?
If yes, how many time hv u perform hajj..
Do you have access to any social media platforms or Google?
Do you use AI?
What do you think about the case of Manahel al-Otaibi?
The government feels threatened by her or why do they punish her so excessively?
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That’s amazing thank you for offering such a unique perspective! Here are a few thoughtful AMA-style questions people might be curious about (in case you want to expand or need ideas for responses):
Is there air conditioning everywhere? It looks to be so hot! By the way, I am happy reading your answers here and it’s really interesting!
What’s your feeling on changing Iran’s leadership via force and are you ok with the restrictions put on females in your country?
A few months ago, I was offered absurd amount of money to work in Riyadh – 3x I used to make in Switzerland for scale – and I refused it thinking it would be weird to relocate there. That decision haunted me for a while.
Now I see this random topic on my homepage..
I now realize that I made the right choice. Thanks OP for your comments.