Tearing down the man-made barriers

Throughout history, there have been many recorded cases of manipulation of the holy books to control and subjugate people. Decrees issued by rulers or clerics became the law and in some instances gave rise to abuse of individual rights. What made the situation worse was when personal interpretations on what was right and holy differed from one quarter to another.

In Saudi Arabia, the issue of gender mixing or mingling is one area that has a wide spectrum of understanding. In the first-ever Saudi municipal elections that included women candidates and women voters, there were some restrictions on the manner of campaigning that the women candidates had to abide by. Yet, 21 women managed to gain seats — in spite of the resistance from fundamentalists. They were expected to work with their male counterparts to address civic issues.

Almost immediately after the results were announced, the director general of the Saudi Municipal Council Affairs stated that the female members of the municipal councils would not interact with their male counterparts face-to-face.

“We are making a lot of new adjustments with the participation of women in the council. However, we will not compromise on the religious boundaries. Female members have equal rights as male members of the council, but they will not have mixed meetings,” he said.

While it is becoming the norm to see women and men working alongside elsewhere, it seems that in this case, it infringes upon religious teachings. This brings to mind an event that had occurred sometime back. In Saudi Arabia, it is the norm for most eateries to establish two separate dining areas, one for families and one for single men. The purpose, I suppose, is to prevent harassment of women by single men when they venture to cafes and restaurants. While visitors find it odd, the locals are quite used to the arrangement.

Recently, my wife and I went for as early-morning drive by the Jeddah coastline. On our way back, we stopped by a popular coffee shop to have breakfast. There were two entrances, one for families and the other for single males. As we walked into the family section, we were not impressed by the confined space within the tiny premises, nor by the dark and heavy curtains and shades that shut us out from the outside world and left us with a claustrophobic feeling of being boxed in.

Not wanting to spend our time in confinement, we placed our order and asked the waiter to bring our breakfast over to the singles’ section, where we planned to move. That area was well-lit, well spaced out and with large windows opening out onto the street. The view was pleasant and cheery and there was hardly a soul in there from whom one could expect any trouble.

The waiter, however, was somewhat flustered with the request and told me that the area had been set aside for singles. “Don’t worry,” I assured him. “Any single man trying anything out of line would have me to deal with. You just go ahead and get our orders ready. Leave the rest to me.”

Noticing his reluctance, I asked him firmly if there was any law in the books preventing us from being seated where we chose to. I could understand preventing singles from invading the family section, but the reverse held no logic at all. I tried to assure the waiter: “Listen, It’s OK. I assure you I will take care of my family. And you don’t have to worry; it is my decision and I don’t believe there would be any trouble. People are not animals — and that includes singles. And if one happens to get out of line, I will quickly put an end to the matter. Besides, there are no patrons in the singles’ section yet and so we should not expect any trouble.”

“But sir, maybe the Moral Police ...” he stammered, as his fellow workers stood by, taking it all in.

“What? Are you trying to tell me that the police is going to raid this place and arrest you all just because my family and I are enjoying an early-morning breakfast in a cheerful setting? If you are concerned about that — and I can understand your fears — I assure you that if the police indeed happens to come here checking, I will absolve you of all responsibility and deal with the law keepers in my own. We are not committing any sins or vices and have nothing to fear.”

The waiter finally gave in as we made our way to the singles’ section. It was indeed a much more pleasant place to enjoy breakfast. And after we were served, I noticed from the corner of my eye that the waiters were discreetly leaving the premises one after the other.

Later, I wondered that we perform Haj in mixed company, we pray at the Holy Mosques close to each other, we travel on air planes unsegregated, we work alongside each other in the marketplace and yet can’t we, as civilised people, sit and break bread in each other’s proximity or work together towards a common cause — without the dread of being hassled or intimidated?

Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. You can follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@talmaeena.