What Are The Characteristics Of Women From Saudi Arabia?

As is common in many Saudi Arabian cultures, family structure is vitally important. Indeed, for many Saudi Arabian women and men, family revolves at the heart of most decisions. Furthermore, most Saudi Arabian women live at home with their parents until they marry, move in with their new husbands, and start a new household. In traditional Saudi Arabian culture, young couples often stay local to their wider family. However, with the rapidly growing trend of urbanization in Saudi Arabian culture, more and more young couples are moving away from their extended family to live independently. As a result, the household income opportunities in Saudi Arabia can vary significantly, with a high level of income inequality in the region; this can mean that a new couple living away from their family in urban Saudi Arabia may initially struggle to get a foothold.

Notably, the marriage structure of couples in Saudi Arabia is significantly different from what we see in many other cultures. However, in rural Saudi Arabia, newlyweds typically live in the same tribe or village as their family. Due to the patriarchal nature of Saudi culture, women are often expected to be discrete in public; moreover, spending time in public with people of different genders is often frowned upon and sometimes even illegal. With this thought in mind, the opportunities to date Saudi women are prohibited, and the parents arrange most marriages in Saudi Arabia. However, this may be less strict if meeting Saudi women in countries outside of their home country. Some families may instead reach out to a professional matchmaker to help arrange a new union. However, with the steadily growing trend of equality in the country, some Saudi women are beginning to have a greater say over who they would like to marry. In these cases, some young women may let their parents or family know who they would like to marry, and the family may attempt to arrange it.

The number of marriages in Saudi Arabia has been steadily increasing with each subsequent generation, with a roughly 8.9% increase in the number of weddings for 2020 alone compared to previous years. The average number of children per woman in Saudi Arabia is approximately 2.24, indicating that most households have at least two children. It’s also worth considering that a considerable proportion of the Saudi population – around 67% – comprises children and teenagers. With this thought in mind, it’s safe to assume that the growing growth trends in the Saudi population are led by the increasing number of children in the country. However, divorce rates in the country are also slowly increasing, and annual changes between 2019 and 2020 increased by over 10%. So, if you’re looking to date a gorgeous Saudi Arabian woman, listen out for her interests to try and build a strong relationship. Unfortunately, since dating is prohibited in Saudi Arabia, it can be a little challenging to get to know your new partner before getting with her; however, looking out for her throughout the relationship may help you build a stronger relationship.

Education in Saudi Arabia is crucial, with the country spending almost twice the global average on education. An estimated $53.4 billion is spent annually on education in Saudi Arabia. In total, there are approximately 7.5 million students enrolled in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education in total in Saudi Arabia. Thus, it is perhaps unsurprising that a growing number of people consider Saudi Arabia a hub for business and employment. A further surprising point of note about education in Saudi Arabia is that – despite the country’s high level of income and gender inequality, the overall literacy rate is still high at approximately 98% on average. However, the literacy rate for women in Saudi Arabia is roughly slightly lower than for men at 96% versus 99%, respectively. Therefore, Saudi Arabia still has room for improvement regarding its gender equality overall.  

The educational system in Saudi Arabia places a strong emphasis on religious studies, although other subjects, such as mathematics and language, are also common. However, out of approximately 32 periods per week for study, around nine are usually allocated to the religious study of Islam, indicating the high importance placed on religion over other skills. Education is free for all children in Saudi Arabia and aims to enhance loyalty and cultural acceptance within the country. Students between the ages of six and eighteen can access free public education in Saudi Arabia. Before passing to the next grade, they must pass examinations and attain an education certificate. This fact may have contributed to the high levels of literacy in the country. However, higher education has historically been lacking in the country because the number of higher education facilities was minimal. However, recent investment has increased the number of Saudi students accessing higher education in the country. The most studied specialties in Saudi Arabia are humanities and social sciences, which account for approximately 70% of all students.

After completing their education, young Saudi Arabian students have numerous employment opportunities. The overall unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia is approximately 7.36%. The country has a minimum wage of 4,000 SAR monthly or around 48,000 SAR annually. This income figure is about £11,750 per year, roughly similar to the average annual minimum wage in many other countries. However, the average yearly income in Saudi Arabia is about 260,000 SAR annually; unfortunately, there is a high level of income inequality in the country. The more common annual income is around 100,000 SAR, with a few high-earning outliers increasing the average income dramatically. The number of women working in the Saudi market is also growing, with about one-third of women in Saudi Arabia now holding paid employment. The largest Saudi Arabian industries typically include crude oil manufacturing, aircraft, repair, construction, plastic and metal manufacturing, etc. The country is considered an accessible destination to do business in. The country’s export market is highly valuable, with total exports amounting to over $220 billion.

Saudi Arabia is incredibly religious, although it is notable that it does not embrace religious freedom as most other modern nations do; as such, all Saudi Arabian women and men must follow Islam by law. Furthermore, if you are looking to move to Saudi Arabia and settle down as a Saudi citizen, you’ll also need to convert to Islam first; without doing so, you cannot become a new citizen. Islam holds a highly significant role within Saudi Arabian culture. The country is highly notable in its much greater emphasis on religion than in many other countries internationally. As such, while Saudi Arabian students learn about the sciences and arts, religious study accounts for almost one-third of their education, helping young students learn more about Saudi culture. The strong denial of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia results from a decree made by Muhammad ibn Abdullah, an Arabic prophet. He stated that Arabia should not have multiple religions, which is something that Saudi Arabia still holds firmly to this day.

While religious freedom is strongly limited in Saudi Arabia, citizens can choose whether to follow Sunni or Shia Islam, which accounts for 90% and 10% of the population. However, discrimination is common for the latter minority through the educational system and employment. For non-Muslims, entry into the country is restricted solely to non-citizens. Even then, non-citizens who are not Muslim are not allowed access to the holy cities of Medina and Mecca. Furthermore, for non-Muslims working there, visits from the Saudi Arabian religious police are standard. Moreover, non-Muslims working or visiting the country are not allowed to celebrate their religious events, such as Christmas or Easter. Religious persecution is widespread in the country, and many Christian foreign workers in the country express their distress at their treatment accordingly. Despite this, it is often believed that the Christian community in Saudi Arabia is one of the fastest-growing in the Middle East.

While Islam is the only accepted religion in Saudi Arabia, it is essential to consider that there are still some minority religions present in the country. These are usually temporary workers or holidaymakers visiting Saudi Arabia; however, due to the exclusion of other religions in the country, there are no places of worship for other faiths. Furthermore, publically displaying religious activities for other religions is punished very strongly in the country, which is why it’s so important to keep any religious activities private if holidaying in Saudi Arabia. In addition, along a similar line, anyone of another faith attempting to convert Saudi Arabian citizens to another religion may be punished severely, potentially even with the death penalty. However, punishments such as prison time are much more common overall, with around twenty years being more common. Finally, it is important to consider that Atheists are considered terrorists in Saudi Arabian culture, so if you are planning to move to Saudi Arabia to live with your new Saudi Arabian wife, accepting Islam is the only option.

Before you begin dating women from Saudi Arabia, you must consider their common characteristics regarding mentality. Indeed, Saudi Arabian culture is highly distinct from most Western and many other European cultures; as such, it may come as a culture shock if you first meet Saudi Arabian women without knowing their mentality. Generally speaking, Saudi Arabian women are very gentle, kind, and friendly. They will often go out of their way to ensure that their husbands or family’s needs are met, sometimes to the point of putting themselves behind. When dating a gorgeous Saudi Arabian woman, you should remember that she will likely do her best to look after everyone. However, you should always make sure that you’re helping out where possible to ensure she stays energized with maintaining the household and family.

Another incredibly common trait of Saudi Arabian women that you’ll likely experience quickly is that they are very modest. Indeed, Saudi Arabian women typically tend to cover themselves up in public, which is culturally typical. In addition, while some Saudi women are working to encourage women’s rights in the country, most women quietly fall into their patriarchal society, which means they often develop a very timid and reserved disposition. Notably, Saudi women (especially in their home country) are very unlikely to spend time with people of the opposite sex. As such, if you’re looking to date Saudi women, meeting them may be a little trickier; many people dating Saudi women tend to meet them in other countries rather than in their home country. This is because Saudi Arabia has strict gender segregation and gender rules, for which there can be severe consequences for breaching these. Moreover, it would be best if you also tried to maintain your privacy and discretion in Saudi Arabia since many women may find it offputting or distressing to see people not acting or dressing modestly in public in the Kingdom.

When dating Saudi Arabian women, it is also essential to consider that they may have differing and patriarchal views compared to women from other cultures. Many Saudi women think their destiny is to be housemakers, and as such, they will often develop many skills such as cooking, cleaning, and the like during their childhood. However, a growing number of Saudi Arabian women are looking to broaden their horizons and discover new opportunities which may have previously been banned. As such, you should always take some time to learn what your new Saudi Arabian partner’s hopes are before settling down, and if she expresses the wish to learn new skills, this may be something you should consider. Notably, reforms in 2019 have allowed Saudi Arabian women slightly more freedom than before. This reform means that a growing number of women are also joining the labor market in both private and public sector businesses. Previously, most Saudi Arabian women didn’t hold jobs other than a small number who worked in roles such as nursing or teaching; this represents a significant change for gender equality in Saudi Arabia.