Man Arrested for Having Breakfast With a Saudi Woman

Saudi government has arrested a man who appeared in a video, while having breakfast with a female colleague. The video went viral drawing backlash and criticism from the conservatives in the kingdom, where public space are still gender segregated and led to the arrest.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Labor and Social Development has said the man was arrested for appearing in the offensive video and also cited violations of rules including those regulating women’s placement at work.

Ministry of Labor and Social Development has issued an statement, “The labor ministry arrested an expatriate in Jeddah after he appeared in an offensive video.” The man in the video is an Egyptian citizen and the video was shot in the lobby of the hotel where both the man and woman work.

In the video the man, who is seen identifying himself as Bahaa, is saying “come have breakfast with us”. The video also shows the woman feeding the man with some food.

The video is shot at the reception area of a hotel in Jeddah. The law, also has accused the man of working in a profession, which is reserved only for Saudis, according to the Ministry, which has not explained the nature of the job. The employer of the man is also summoned and is accused of violating the rules regulating the women’s placement at work.

The highly religious country still has strict laws, which is specifically meant for men and women and has defined how they can dine together in public. Public places in Saudi Arabia are traditionally segregated and the restaurants have separate space dedicated to families, away from men. Married couples have to carry an official proof of marriage in case they are stopped while walking together, by the police.

The city of Jeddah is a tourist place because of its coastal area and the city has a number of upscale cafés and restaurants that don’t enforce the kind of segregation. But time and again the Saudi public prosecutor’s office has been posting warning on social media including Twitter, that the foreigners working in the Kingdom must “respect Saudi values, traditions, and feelings”. 

After the arrest the Saudi public prosecutor’s office has released another statement warning that people may face up to five years in prison for producing, posting online, sending or saving materials that “violate public order, religious values, public morality, or the sanctity of personal life”.

In the recent past, Saudi Arabia has been encouraging women to join the workforce and has relaxed some of its strictest laws on the women and social life including allowing women to drive, watch movies and attend football games in stadiums. But the arrest has apparently come as an odd with the much publicized reform efforts by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.