Life in Saudi Arabia can give you Goosebumps!
Well, we Indians are literally living a life of freedom. We are so used to it that we cannot even give a thought to live without it. But there are some countries that do not provide freedom to their citizens. In Saudi Arabia there are no specific statutes or laws to govern by. Only the constitution that is used is the Quran judges everything there. Many actions that are considered illegal have no actual written laws to ban them – a lot of them are not even addressed in the Quran.
Here are 7 common things that are not so common in Saudi Arabia and they are banned:
1. Valentine’s Day: People in Saudi Arabia do believe in love but they do not find Valentine’s Day relevant. They find this day ridiculous and they are especially against it. Even selling or wearing anything red on Valentine’s Day is banned there. Every February 14th entails the same procedure; flower shops and gift shops are prohibited from selling red roses, anything heart-shaped. Apart from this, if anybody breaks this law the penalty leads to the store being shut down.
2. Getting socialized: It is common for us but not for them. We are social animal so of course, we need to get socialized with people. The mixing of sexes at malls and restaurants are totally banned there. Opposite see cannot interact there. In many malls in Saudi, only “families” are allowed. And by families, they mean either women visiting mall by themselves, or men who are accompanied by women. Mall security would not allow a group of men or a single man to enter unless a woman is with them. As for restaurants, there are typically two sections: one for families and one for singles, according to the same designation as mentioned before.
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3. Movie Theatres: Can you beat that movie theatres are banned in Saudi Arabia. You can’t go on movie dates guys. No, matter how big movie lover you are, but you can’t watch movies in theatres there. Movie theaters are prohibited and they are only located within private company compounds, such as theaters at Saudi Aramco residential camps.
4. Bacon: Another thing that is banned in Saudi Arabia is Pork. Yes, pork is banned there. Since Saudi Arabia operates under Islamic law, all food entering the country must be “halal”. It is a country that considers all its citizens to be Muslim and any non-Muslim expats have to abide by its strict rules as well. Furthermore, because Saudi Arabia contains the two holy mosques, it considers having any pork inside the country desecration.
5. Music School: Music classes or any type of music school is too banned in Saudi Arabia. Though, music is supported there but not music schools. Music is legal in Saudi Arabia and there is an active music industry. However, there are no formal schools to teach music. The general attitude for many religious people is that music is forbidden; malls and stores do not have music playing through speakers in order not to offend religious customers.
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6. Gym for Girls: All type of sports or gyms are totally banned for girls in Saudi Arabia. Girls cannot go to gym at all. For a while, private gyms for women were allowed to operate until the Religious Police decided to close them down for good. In girls’ schools and universities, there are no gym classes or sports teams, and therefore, there are no professional women’s teams. Saudi Arabia faces a ban from the International Olympic Committee for never sending out any female delegates and the Saudi Olympic Committee was only able to find two girls, one of whom was born and raised and trained in the United States. No matter how much talented you are but you cannot go for sports activities there.
7. Every Other God: Other religions are again banned in Saudi Arabia. It is against the law for non-Muslims to worship in public in Saudi Arabia and there are no houses of worship to cater to non-Muslims. Basically, non- Muslims are not allowed to worship there. The main reason, yet again, is because the two holy mosques are located in the country and that is would be blasphemous for churches or other places of worship.
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