Wednesday, June 25, 2008

What’s here for the boys?

In my last post I talked about what life here in KSA is like. And we all agree that this place is unfair to women, with all the restrictions and the forced dependency. The Shiv Sena (no offense) would probably think this is how the youth of our country should be too. And the hard core MCP’s (with all offense) would think this is how women need to live... "They don’t need freedom and they don’t deserve a driving license."

But what’s in here for the boys?
This place is the oil treasure of the world with a lot of industries dealing with oil by-products. My husband’s company (which is a huge petroleum based company) does not have a single woman employee. Well, most companies here are like that. All they can see around in their office is male population. Isn’t that horrible? Would they have the desire to look smart left in them? Wouldn’t all of them enjoy some female attention at work? Isn’t work place more fun when there is a mix of the sexes? Don’t the chances of having a female boss make work more challenging (most guys find it stressful)?

There is no concept of ‘catching up with old friends over a drink’ (unless you are talking about a variety of tea, coffee or a non-alcoholic beverage).

Boys, even men, can’t get a glimpse of a woman. They are all covered head to toe. They don’t know what their female cousins look like. All they have is images of how they looked as kids. Imagine a boy growing up not knowing what his dad’s friend’s daughter looks like. Can you imagine what it is like for a boy not to know what his sister’s best friend looks like? Imagine your father not knowing what you grand mother looks like. Imagine a little boy not knowing what his teacher looks like.

So I feel it’s not all that bad for me here. I can atleast look at other smart men, admire their broad shoulders and comment about their bellies to my husband. My poor husband, all he can do is look at a cute kid and wonder what its mom looks like ;)

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