Hooking Up Gets Easier To Do In Saudi Arabia

A cafe in Riyadh is known for fair-trade coffee and vegan desserts and also for being a popular dating meeting place. A woman describes dating as previously taboo when being seen with a man who was not a relative could expose her to family consequences. She notes that social change is underway as Saudi Arabia has begun allowing movies, music, and theater and as men and women mix more openly in public. Earlier dating required indirect approaches, such as leaving phone numbers on the ground or asking women to open car windows so numbers could be exchanged. Some women now take a more proactive role in approaching men they like.

"“This is one of the really famous dating places here. I dated my fiance a lot here,” says a 29-year-old woman enjoying a French-press coffee. She's wearing stylish high-heeled shoes and a black abaya, a traditional floor-length cloak. But her flowing hair is not covered. She asks NPR not to use her name for fear her family would find out about her dating past."

"“Until recently, she says, it was ‘taboo to be seen with a man who was not your relative.’ Nowadays, things are getting easier for many Saudis on the heterosexual dating front. The Gulf kingdom now allows things like movies, music and theater that it once forbade. More men and women are openly mixing in public than before. Though some in the deeply conservative country are bothered by it, a growing hookup culture is one of the latest signs of gradual social change.”"

"“They just had to be careful and devise ways to meet. A man would write his phone number on a piece of paper and drop it on the ground near a woman he was interested in. Or sometimes men would pull their car up next to a vehicle with a woman in it, and ask her to open the window,” says the woman in the cafe. “If you don't open, they would go to the driver and fight with him until they force you to take the number,” she says, shaking her head at the memory.”"

"“These days, some women are even becoming more assertive in the process,” says the woman, a government worker, who will begin a Ph.D. in the fall. “I've seen girls who are pro-active and if they like a guy, they would go to him, and that's happening a lot righ”"

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