When you think of Saudi Arabia or Riyadh, you immediately think of a place with many restrictions and laws. While that is true in a lot of ways, life has improved in Riyadh in many ways over the last decade, including for women in the kingdom.
1. The opening of the Kingdom center
Although Kingdom Center opened back in 2002, it still plays a major role in the lives of Saudi women. This isn't just a regular mall. It has a specific floor dedicated for women everything from fashion like Chanel to glamorous restaurants that look like Liv nightclub in Miami. I'm not even exaggerating. You would think that you walked into an expensive nightclub or bar and not a restaurant with all the music blasting. Also, many of them serve (supposedly) non-alcoholic beverages. The reason I say supposedly is because there is alcohol, just in very small amounts.
2. Use of camera phones
During the early 2000s, the rise of the Nokia 6600 was a very big deal in Riyadh because it was the first mobile phone with a high quality camera at the time. When it was released, the phone was banned for a short period. Shops that did have them kept them in hiding because of the very strict searches that were conducted at random times. The authorities would go into mobile shops including Al-Mursalat mobile market (The biggest mobile market in all of Saudi Arabia at the time) and would confiscate this phone from every shop. Those who bought the phone with them from abroad were stopped at the airport because of the strict searches of that phone. Some reported that the security at the airport broke the camera lens of the phone during their search before giving the phone back to its owner. You were also not allowed to show your camera phone publicly or even take photos.
3. Lingerie shop owners used to be men only
In 2012, King Abdullah reversed this law after pressure from Saudi women who were becoming very uncomfortable buying their lingerie from male shop owners. The men in the country are no longer allowed to sell lingerie .
4. Creating more places for women like Women's Business Park
Some might think this is a "step backwards" for women. Wrong! As someone who was born in Saudi Arabia and lived there for 20 years, I can assure you that this one of the best if not the best thing to happen to women regardless whether it is for women only. Riyadh has more freedom for women now than it did when I was last there, which was in 2010. You have to take into consideration that Riyadh is still a conservative place that is easing its' way into becoming a more open place by taking small steps that allow women to have more freedom whether in the place they want to work in or with leisure. You need to remember that this is a country that has been a certain way for a long time. You can't take a big leap and expect everyone to immediately adjust after living their entire lives in a specific way. Even something as basic as giving more freedom to women to drive. To the majority of people, this may seem like something trivial, but to Saudis, the amount of harassment will increase. Saudi Arabia is still a very conservative country, especially toward women. Wanting to change something and actually applying it are two different things.
5. Gym and dance classes for women
I got the short end of the stick when it came to living in Riyadh. Sometime during 2011-2012, the amount of gyms and dance classes in the Riyadh itself increased. Before that, the closest gyms were approximately an hour or two away. Some were so far that they were closer to being outside of Riyadh itself. Although dance classes are still not publicly displayed, classes like Salsa do exist in some gyms and even compounds and they are taught by professional women from outside.
6. And finally, limiting the powers of the Saudi religious police
Guys, imagine being a woman and accidentally bumping into a guy. You normally wouldn't think anything of it, right? Well, this happened to me once and a Hai'a member of the Saudi religious police saw me and I was investigated for an entire hour. And not only that, they even called my parents, yelled at them for raising a tramp like me. Good thing I never told them how many guys I bump into or talk to in everyday life. I think they would have personally bought my one way ticket to hell. You can't help but laugh it off. The limiting of the Saudi religious police is the best thing that has ever happened in Riyadh. Hopefully, it'll become even more open as time goes on.