Man arrested after breakfast with woman in Saudi Arabia

ruby orimba

September 11, 2018 11:52 AM

Women must sit separately from single men in these places

An Egyptian man in Saudi Arabia has been arrested after a video of him having breakfast with a woman went viral on Twitter.

In the video, a man with an Egyptian dialect eats breakfast beside a woman wearing a full face veil, who many assumed to be Saudi.

This is in contravention of the law in Saudi Arabia, where in workplaces or eateries like McDonald's and Starbucks, families and single men have to sit in different areas.

Seperately

Women must sit separately from single men in these places.

They are not allowed to carry out most activities without being accompanied by their male guardians, usually a father or husband, but possibly a brother or a son.

Exclusive

The man was arrested by the Saudi Ministry of Labour and Social Development, who accused him of "committing several violations and taking up a post exclusively reserved for Saudis".

The Arabic hashtag "an Egyptian having breakfast with a Saudi" has been used over 113,000 times on Twitter, where it has become the centre of a cultural divide.

ruby orimba