By NADIA AL-FAWAZ | ARAB NEWS
ABHA: Entering malls and shopping centers have become a real challenge for young Saudi men, who have innovated many ways and means to force themselves inside.
Under the prevailing rules, only women and families are allowed to enter malls. The young men are barred from malls because of fears that they may disturb families. The young men have considered this a challenge that they have to defeat and deal with one way or another.
Many young men dress like women in order to be allowed into the malls. Others bribe the security guard who controls the gates, while a third group pays money to young girls who will give them company to gain access to malls.
Most of these adventures take place over the weekends. Many young men gather at the gates of malls and shopping centers with the hope of being allowed to go inside. “Preventing young men from entering malls represents a real challenge that we have to overcome,” said Saeed Al-Amri, a young Saudi.
“We feel that we have been rejected by society. This feeling causes us to be more daring and challenge the authority, which has imposed this ban on us,” he added.
Al-Amri said that the lack of public entertainment places for young men made them squatter on the streets and hang around shopping malls to tease families going in or out.
“The entertainment facilities built by the private sector are too expensive, especially for unemployed young men,” he said.
Note by the editor: This is probably totally an ‘unknown’ for the Western Readers, or any one who has not visited Saudi Arabia (and to some extend the Gulf countries)….
Categories: Asia, Economics, Saudi Arabia