Topic Title: Life in Jeddah for married women

Author frick

Date Posted: 4/26/2006 4:26 PM

Hello arnobi, thx for your advices. But i wonder when did you work in saudi arabia? I heard that there used to be very strict rules for women in the past, but nowadays these rules are changing. the government plans to provide more working areas for women in addition to education and health industries. Is it really interesting to live in SA for women? I really wonder what kind of lifestyles women have there. what kind of difficulties did you have during your stay in the country?

Author Arnobi

Date Posted: 4/25/2006 11:45 PM

RE: covering. Almost all women, including Western and non-Muslim ones, cover their hair when out of the house. No matter what your nationality is, you may be harassed if you don't, and certainly will not be respected by the majority of people.

Most of us foreigners are here because we are Muslim and want to live in a country where it is easy to be Muslim. We see being able to wear hijab without being harassed as a civil right not available in our own countries.

Author Arnobi

Date Posted: 4/25/2006 11:41 PM

I'm an American woman who has lived in Jeddah for nineteen years, and worked outside the home for fourteen of those years. There are very few jobs for women in Saudi, and almost all are in the education and health care sectors. By law, women are barred from almost all other occupations.

You might be able to do some consulting in your field, but the competition for such jobs would be fierce, and being female, you would be at a disadvantage.

If you want to work here, the best thing to do would be to get some kind of teaching certificate before you come. If your English and/or Arabic is excellent, you could teach math, physics, etc. at an English language seconday school or possibly at one of the colleges or the university. You should begin to search for and apply for jobs now for the fall term.

Jeddah is a great place to live, but women have to develop our own interests. Besides working and socializing, there isn't much to do!