Saudi In Words

Fashion design in #Saudi began with women creating #abayas & everyday #thobes (traditional dresses) the favourite garments for Ramadan. With more & more fashion design sections opening in universities, chances are up for Saudi designers on the world stage....

Fashion design in Saudi began with women creating unusual abayas and everyday thobes (traditionall dresses) that are favourite garments for Ramadan. With more and more Fashion design departments opening in Saudi universities chances are opening for new Saudi designers...

Tonight, the Middle East Institute in Washington is holding a webinar on the future of Arab Youth: Voices of the Future. This survey, in its 12th edition, interviews thousands of young people and tells readers about the feelings, mentality, ambitions, dreams and hopes...

The 2020 G20 Riyadh summit took place on 21–22 November 2020 virtually. Most important topics on the agenda was the pandemic and its effects as well as climate change. [video width="848" height="480"...

Snow in Saudi Arabia https://twitter.com/Hackmed804/status/1327682456099631106 Princess Roses Strong conquers almost everything; #AmalAlhakmy runs her flower shop in a tiny village near Jizan. Her start was a fridge & few flowers which turned into Princess Roses...

If you are wondering - as I do sometimes - about the impact of climate change on the economies of the 6 Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) and whether or not it is/will result in change their political and economic policies to a greener future, watch this video and/or...

It has just been announced that Dr. Arwa Al Jalal has been appointed a judge of the Saudi Arabian Competition Court which deals with monopolies and other anti-competitive practices. This is an amazing development where the first female lawyers received their licenses only seven years ago.

Dr. Al Jalal is an assistant professor at King Saud University in Riyadh, where she specializes in commercial and insurance law. The Committee for the Determination of Violations of the Competition Regulation is a powerful judicial body that can stop mergers and impose heavy penalties on businesses that hinder free competition.

Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Council of the Judiciary has announced that judicial flogging will be replaced as a punishment by fines or imprisonment. This is part of Saudi Arabia’s human rights reforms. While flogging is one of the punishments recognized by Islamic Law, Sharia, in most cases its imposition is in the judge’s discretion.

In Saudi, students will progress to the next year without completing the 2 nd semester. Except for private schools who can make a choice and unlike other GCC countries. In this crisis it seems like there is no 💯 universal solution. #SaudiTimes #Education...

Saudis have been enjoying the benefits of the Internet since it was made available in the Kingdom in the late 1990s. As elsewhere in the world, Saudis now make a large part of their purchases online, perhaps even more enthusiastically than most.

I came across this link thinking that five years ago one could not have imagined such steps coming true. Hopefully, these and other planned reforms will allow young and old female talents to grow and find their chances on a level playing field.

This week the Saudi minister for Municipalities Affairs and Urban in Charge, Majid Al Qasabi, issued a decree. This decree ordered all event managers and restaurant owners to register with charities so the food doesn’t go to waste. 

This step was introduced to utilize the food that is usually left after a big event or by restaurants. It also aims to increase awareness amongst the Saudi public regarding the importance of resources.

A hashtag in Arabic reading #systemforserviceneedstochange was widely mentioned among Saudi Twitter users this week. The hashtag highlighted the problems the Saudi military staff face. Users listed the disadvantages of the old regulations governing the armed forces.

World Bank ranks Saudi Arabia as top reformer on women's rights at work Read more: https://www.thenational.ae/world/gcc/world-bank-ranks-saudi-arabia-as-top-reformer-on-women-s-rights-at-work-1.964935 

The pictures above show the Dahr mountain in north of Saudi Arabia. Most parts in this area, which includes Hail and Al Jouf, are covered by snow in winter.

Most of the central and northern parts of Saudi Arabia go through harsh, cold winters. Most people living abroad do not know about the seasonal weather changes here, and that it snows in Saudi Arabia.

Shops and businesses in Saudi Arabia will be allowed to stay open for 24/7, a move that will boost the economy. Read more: https://www.thenational.ae/world/gcc/saudi-arabia-says-businesses-and-shops-to-open-24-hours-1.957599 

This month, the Saudi government has canceled the rule for the segregation of single men and women in restaurants. For many years it was claimed that the rule was in place to protect women, which recently sparked a fierce discussion on social media – like many such recent rule changes. http://www.dailyjournal.net/2019/12/08/ml-saudi-sex-segregation/ .

Last month, US rapper Russ performed in Riyadh alongside hip-hop group Migos, making it his second concert in Saudi Arabia. His shows are part of the evolving entertainment strategy which the Saudi government is implementing as part of Vision 2030.

People in Saudi Arabia are delighted by these positive developments and are slowly getting used to the wide range of entertainment that is on offer throughout the country.

A member of the Saudi Scholars’ Council Sheikh Abdullah Al Manea, has issued a Fatwa confirming that women may stipulate as a condition in their marriage contracts that they have the power to divorce their husbands. Al Manea said that, if the woman stipulates the condition, it is legally valid.

In Islam, a man can divorce his wife by saying 3 times “I divorce you.” It does not have to be in one go; it can expand over a period of years according to the Islamic ruling. Once it is said for the third time, the divorce has happened and it cannot be reversed.  In the Sunni sect, there are 4 different schools for interpretation of Islamic law – differing in the details of the divorce matter.

The Saudi Ministry of Defence will allow women to join the Saudi armed forces in combat capacities. Several Saudi and Gulf newspapers issued the announcement, which was made this month.  

Women can be enlisted for military jobs with ranks from private soldiers to sergeants in the army’s branches of ground, air, air defense and missile forces, and medical services. The way was paved in 2018 when women were allowed to enroll in the military. However, their jobs did not involve combat but instead gave them the opportunity to work in security and passport control.

This week, the Saudi Council of Ministers announced that, for industrial companies, it will waive the fees that the companies have to pay in respect of their foreign employees.

The expatriate levy was introduced in 2018 in conjunction with a series of other regulations aimed at creating jobs for Saudis and moving the economy away from oil dependency. The levy is SAR 3,600 ($962) per expatriate employee for 2018, SAR 6,000 ($1,604) for 2019, and SAR 8,400 ($2,245) for 2020, payable by the employer. In addition, an employee who has dependents in Saudi Arabia is responsible for paying the levy as follows: SAR 1,200 ($374) per dependent in 2018, SAR 2,400 ($ 642) in 2019, and SAR 3,600 ($962) in 2020.

Until 2000, the opportunities for foreign investment in Saudi Arabia were extremely restricted, essentially limited to foreign minority shareholdings in industrial development projects involving technology transfer to Saudi Arabia. Foreign participation in service or trading businesses was not possible. At the time, the economy was dominated by state-owned monopolies, many of whom provided extremely poor services to the population, as anyone who tried to get a telephone line in those days will remember. Meanwhile, the economy was going from bad to worse, with the price of Arabian crude oil having dropped from $34 per barrel in 1981 to $12 per barrel in 1998.

Tourists will soon be able to visit Saudi Arabia on a tourist visa, although no clear starting date has been announced. The English language daily Arab News and the semi-official Okaz reported that citizens of 50 countries, among them the Schengen countries and the USA, will be granted visa upon their arrival. Where to, is not clear either.

Okaz reported that the government is planning a showcase exhibition of Saudi tourist attractions at the end of September, but this has not been officially confirmed. The aim is to introduce attractive touristic sites in Saudi Arabia to an international audience.

Entertainment in Saudi Arabia has changed. For the last year and a half, the government has been offering a variety of entertainment programmes to its citizens, filling the previous void of empty, boring and dark days.

Shows, concerts by international and Arabian stars, summer festivals with bazars, posh restaurants or street food were available this summer, in and outdoor activities. It’s happening all over the country, giving many people from all parts of Saudi Arabia a chance to find what they like. Have a look into the entertainment calendar for 2019/2020 above. I raised my eyebrows to above my forehead when I read it.

This week, English-speaking newspaper, Saudi Gazette, published an article reporting that Saudi Passport Authority Jawazat will not send messages to the guardian informing him about the trace of a female/s under his guardianship as it was part of their service so far.

In the past, the service I was that the guardian would receive a full and in-details message of the woman’s travel information (time, day, flight, destination, etc) issued by Absher (an electronic system dealing with governmental and social affairs. Abshir was set up by the government for citizens to handle their affairs much quicker and more efficient.

One would think this a great entertainment opportunity for those who opt to stay in Saudi over summer. But in fact, the summer season might turn out to be a costly affair. “I need about €3000 to attend all the concerts and visit all the restaurants I would like,” says Amal M, housewife, 38 years old. But she adds it’s worth experiencing this in Saudi Arabia. And while such events did not use to be well organised, surprisingly this year all information was easily accessible on social media. The organisers are keeping the public well-informed both in Arabic and English about the programs and ticket sale.

Like anywhere in the Arab world, soap operas and drama series of all sorts have been a window to the world and major entertainment for most Saudis in the past decade. All these productions take them into a world that they may never visit, express ideas that they cannot articulate, and show emotions that they may have but must suppress. There is a list of reasons for why someone is watching one series or follows a cookery programme.

Running and walking started to become trendy in Jeddah two decades ago. Men and women alike began walking in pedestrian areas as one of the few exercise facilities available at the time. Anyone familiar with Saudi Arabia, especially Jeddah, knows that the infrastructure was very poor, making it uncomfortable for people to walk. At the time, it was a bold step for a woman to go out and exercise, but that did not hinder many to start. Eventually, it turned into a trend.

Last week, the Saudi cabinet approved a new residency system aimed at attracting high-skilled expats. The new law will grant certain non-Saudis residency without needing a local sponsor.

Saudi’s new permanent residency permit fee to exceed $200,000.