Cons of being single in Saudi Arabia

It would seem, what could be the disadvantages of being a bachelor? Moreover, in a country where a man occupies a completely different position in society than a woman. Live and enjoy, spend money and time on yourself, on your cars, restaurants, shopping, traveling around the world, and so on. No obligations, no liability, and no additional costs. But ...

... in fact, it turned out that there are certain disadvantages in Saudi Arabia for men who are not burdened by family ties.

What exactly? Yes, at least in spending money freely, shopping, and going to restaurants. What can hinder this exciting process? And how does single status affect?

It's all about the presence of these signs

6 PHOTOS

1. Families only: Entry for families only. If you came here alone, you simply will not be allowed into the store. Generally without options. Foreigners can still ask for an exception: if there are no female visitors in the store, unaccompanied by men, they will be allowed. But local - no, and again no.

Ask how are the girls. Girls are just allowed. That is, the sign "Families only" can be read as "For families and girls." The fact is that the girls themselves will not go to the store, because. in Saudi Arabia, it is not customary for a woman to go somewhere alone without her husband/father/brother. Sometimes women go with a group of friends in several people, in recent years this is allowed. Friends are allowed. A guy or a group of guys - no.

2. Perhaps you thought when looking at the previous photo that the ban applies to women's stores, and even selling underwear, so this is not surprising. I hasten to disappoint, such signs hang at the entrance to a huge number of shops and boutiques in Saudi malls. Here, for example, is a Louis Vuitton store with women's and men's sections. Entrance for families only.

And here is the men's store. But if you are a bachelor, you will not be able to spend your rials here: they will politely refuse entry.

3. So, as you can see, the signs of Saudi stores not only contain opening hours, lunch, and weekends but also an indication that it is only for families or entry is possible for everyone.

Surely you have one more question: how do they know that you are not married? Is the passport being checked? Yes, and you can be married but drove into the store without a wife ...

The passport is not checked, because even if you are married, but want to go to the Families only store, you will still not be allowed to enter. The entrance is for families only, that's how it reads verbatim. And yes, a single Arab can come here with his sister or mother, and no one will say a word to them. But one, without a woman, will not be able to enter. So if you finally interpret the restriction, then you can only get into such stores accompanied by a woman.

Some malls even have entire floors where only families or girls are allowed to enter.

But these are not the only places where bachelor's will not be allowed. They may not even be allowed in ... to McDuck!

4. Separate entrance for couples, separately - for men (bachelors, or simply without a wife/sister/daughter/mother). In such establishments, there are separate halls that do not intersect and do not even have a common passage.

Until recently, in general, all restaurants and eateries in Saudi Arabia had separate halls for single families. Now there are more and more establishments where there is no such division. But they are not very popular with families who strictly honor traditions.

5. Armenian restaurant on the main street of Riyadh. The main entrance is for families only, and for singles, the entrance is on the side, immediately into a small hall, without a metro waiter, hostess, and so on.

By the way, even in the family section, men cannot look at other people's women. All tables in restaurants are almost always separated from each other by screens so that a woman can take off her niqab and eat in peace.

Well, in the single section, there are no screens, and there is no one to hide from and no one to hide from. And yes, you will not meet a girl in a restaurant...