SAUDI ARABIA
Business Girl in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, “Supplication before a journey”
Oh Allah! I seek refuge in you from the difficulties of the journey, from unwanted situations..
Turkish Airlines blesses my flight from Istanbul to Saudi Arabia once again. I will land in Jeddah, Mecca's airport, which is why the airline has gifted me with a branded sunshade and bag. The latter contains a prayer mat and stopwatch, a "Hajj" sanitizer, foot covers for entering places of worship, and finally, a Turkish greeting card: We wish you a successful prayer pilgrimage. May Allah accept.
In the back rows there is the Saudi women's national team of who knows what sport, they are all girls under thirty, proudly showing off their green "Saudi Arabia" polo shirts as well as their shiny, thick, raven, free hair. I remember the first time I landed in the country, it was a late-night full flight that would take me to Riyadh, the capital, for the trade fair I was attending. I was the only Western girl on the plane, I remember that by pure chance I ended up next to a foreign sales colleague who was heading to the same event: "What is a girl so young and alone doing on a flight to Riyadh?". Then we started chatting and we also discovered that we shared part of our professional network. I remember smiling that night, I was afraid there might be problems with the visa checks and I had specifically asked a customer if one of his drivers could escort me to the hotel. I had downloaded an all-female ridesharing app anyway, Leena, which has been popular in the country since 2018, when women were finally allowed to drive. In fact, I would soon find out how normal Uber And care were safe and functional means of transport for me to get around the city.
I don't expect much from my hotel stays when I travel for business. It's enough that they are simple, clean, 24 hours a day, I've stopped hoping that breakfast includes my stupid routine yogurt. If I'm lucky I can book a hotel with a gym, especially after long flights with stopovers and intercontinental flights. I try to reset my heart rate with some healthy physical activity, in this way I think I can reduce the female imperfections of microcirculation and the effects of jet lag. Before booking the hotel in Jeddah I therefore contacted the reception to make sure I could access the gym. After my two previous stays in Riyadh, I knew I could stumble upon a hotel with a gym reserved for men and women in separate shifts, or in a "Fitness gym women only" in public spaces. The first time in the capital the receptionist had in fact prevented me from going for a run on the treadmill in the morning, even though the men's shift was completely empty. It seemed crazy to me, even though I had told myself to be good. But no, I went to the back courtyard of the hotel, in a neighborhood built on sand where there didn't seem to be a living soul, and ran, away from prying eyes, I knew I wasn't dressed according to the law, I was in Bermuda shorts and short sleeves. In the country, foreign women have been allowed to walk around without wearing the abaya, without covering the head, it is sufficient that they wear loose-fitting clothing that covers below the knee and below the elbow, without exaggerating with make-up. Most Saudi women, however, still wear the niqab, only a few show their wonderful Arabic features and olive skin in the sunlight, although sometimes it unsettles me to notice how many of them operate on their irises to show their blue eyes. In all Muslim countries, especially here, I regularly meet them bareheaded in the toilet, smiling and extremely supportive of each other, intent on combing their hair, making themselves beautiful, finally rinsing themselves after suffering the high temperatures under their black clothes. I have met some by chance in coffee shops or at work. They have also recently been allowed to go out alone in public places, as well as meet with people of the opposite sex without having to separate in rooms reserved for men and women. The first time I met a Saudi businesswoman was a few years ago at the Dubai fair, I could only see her eyes, and she was still so convincing, determined.
When I first arrived at the fair in Riyadh I met another Italian colleague, we were the only Western women dressed in suits and loafers. Besides us there were at most ten other local women. I wondered... "how will my colleagues of the opposite sex be able to relate to me?". The truth is that I have never encountered any problems. I have always and only encountered full attention, courtesy, respect, whether my interlocutors were Saudi, Jordanian, Egyptian, Sudanese or whatever. I like to think that this attitude is not only part of the plan for openness and internationalization called Vision 2023, with which Prince Mohammed Bin Salman looks to the Expo and the modernization of the country through major infrastructure projects, construction of new cities, boosting tourism, soft power in football, digitalization and even the opening of the first liquor store in the diplomatic district of the capital. Just visit the malls, the KAFD financial district, the historic citadel of Dir'iyya, and the fine dining and hospitality venues of Riyadh, as well as the wonderful old city of Al Balad in Jeddah, dating back to the 16th century and now protected by UNESCO, to understand how much Saudi Arabia has to offer while trying to show itself "to others".
Maybe it's because I'm one of the "others" who can relate to me, even though for cultural reasons some Saudis still don't shake my hand on dates and prefer to put their hand on their heart. In return, Saudi women kiss me three times, hugging me tightly, they are very caring and affectionate.
One of these nights I had dinner in Jeddah with the client. While we were smoking shisha and T was telling me about the extraordinary nature of Islam, hoping that sooner or later I would convert to benefit from the vastness of This Faith, every now and then his third wife and adopted daughter tried to insert themselves by giving me skincare advice and suggesting that I apply garlic and lemon to my nails to keep them healthy, showing me Snapchat tutorials to support them. “Try the cartilage soup, it will make your skin very soft”.
Before returning home, M, the son of his first wife, took me to the Corniche to look out over the Red Sea. I had told him I liked the sea. I love the smell of salt in my hair. He is 29 years old, and in this anagraphic proximity I feel I can finally satisfy a curiosity: “But M, please explain to me, how do you choose your future wife without being able to see her because of the niqab?”
“Well, usually it is the mothers who take care of the selection of our brides, they can see them in a home environment, then they invite us to have tea at their house, in the presence of everyone, so that we can approve”
"And then?"
“Well, if everything goes well, we can start the engagement and we can appear together in public places, always maintaining an appropriate attitude, so we have the chance to get to know each other.”
"And then?"
“Then if we are convinced we marry them.” “Or?” “Or we break off the engagement.”
“And what will happen to these poor girls if they don't pass the exam?”
“Inshallah maybe they will be able to find some other husband.”
“Okay. But instead, do you have any friends at university with you?”
“The universities are divided between men and women, so I cannot meet my future bride there. But you will see that with our Prince things will soon change and the university will also be mixed, then it will be a disaster”.
“Come on, don't worry. In the meantime, good luck with tomorrow's exam, cyber security, right?”
“No, that was today, tomorrow I have the usual exam on the Koran”
“Yalla, you already know everything. Thanks for taking me to see the sea, M.”
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