Hello and welcome back to Riyadh where it is another day of sun! So this month, as it is the month to celebrate love I thought I would take a look at matters of the heart in Saudi Arabia. One Saudi guy told me he was lashed after he was seen waving at a girl he knew in a mall when he was a teenager. The religious police asked him how he knew the girl and he said she was his cousin, they asked her the same and she said he was her brother — so they deduced they were being lied to and used their canes….
I do know that with things easing young Saudis do meet at mixed parties or through the workplace. Like everywhere else dating apps are very popular, Tinder, Bumble etc. A single friend I had here expat joined Tinder when he first arrived. He also said Muslim women of other nationalities although living in Riyadh were more likely to meet up or keep chatting longer than Saudi women.
He said being single in KSA there is a thriving ex-pat dating scene with plenty of opportunity to meet people at parties on compounds which happen almost every weekend, once you tap into those networks. And some expats have even found lasting love — with one expat couple who met by chance on an internal flight when they were both single and started dating eventually getting married and even chose to stay on in Riyadh to raise their young family.
In accordance with Sharia law a man can marry up to four wives provided he treats them all equally and shares his wealth equally. There is also something called a misyar marriage which has been legal since This is essentially a time-limited marriage lasting between days with no dowry paid and no financial obligations. Misyar marriages are usually done in secret and are seen as a hybrid between marriage and single-hood.
So, while it might appear at first that finding love could be a tricky path to negotiate in KSA, like everywhere else in the world, love always finds a way ;0.
