Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
There are a lot of misconceptions about Muslim women in general, but especially in Saudi Arabia. We've learned a lot about the truth about how Islam treats women in our travels around Saudi Arabia. So, I decided to make this video to share them with you all.
Let's start with an admission from Steve: Before I came to Saudi Arabia, I had never had a conversation, or even a single word, with a woman who had her face covered. Sure, there are women wearing full burka or niqab in Toronto, Canada (my hometown), and I've seen them around-- but our entire 'relationship' consisted of walking past eachother silently in the supermarket. I would guess this is not uncommon among most Christian Canadians or non-Muslims.
It's a difficult place for me to strike up a conversation... and so what happens is these women are an unknown. The most I know about them is from either rumor or assumption.
Examples--
Someone tells me:
"I heard they aren't allowed to do anything without the permission of their husband"
or
I assume in my head:
"I guess they just want to be invisible, best not to interact with, that must be what they want"
Now, let's talk about the video!
We start at Red Sea mall in Jeddah. Majority of people in there are women, both customers and staff. Majority of them don't have their face covered, and maybe 10% don't have their hair covered. They're interacting not only with themselves-- laughing as they walk aroudn the mall, buying stuff-- but also with us! (Especially baby Jean. She's a big hit in Saudi Arabia) They're buying lots of stuff, walking around with big bags and even sometimes flashy gold bracelets on their wrist.
There's even one woman, with her face covered, who's trying to give out samples of perfume. She approaches everyone that goes past, giving a scented paper to them and informing them of the deals. My guess is she has to approach dozens of people to make a sale. Talk about confidence, and no fear of dealing with rejection! I, myself, probably couldn't handle that job. I think I am too introverted.
And so, right off the top, we learn that there doesn't seem to be any law regarding covering your face. Women are not under constant supervision from their husbands... and, invisible? They're outgoing! Don't believe western media! What most Westerners heard and fear about Islam and Sharia law are often exaggerated by the media.
The beauty of travel :)
Next: how should women tourists dress in Saudi Arabia?
Ivana's idea was: there will be some range of most-modestly-dressed (full burka, hijab, everything) and least-modestly-dressed (a tourist who's really pushing the limits). Ivana's intention was not to be on the very end of the least-modestly-dressed spectrum. So, she did change her wardrobe slightly. She brought some more loose fitting clothes and covered shoulders. She didn't cover her hair, although she will choose to in Medina-- a very holy city-- which is our next stop on this video series.
With that being said, around Jeddah we saw lots of women wearing tight jeans. Even leggings. Although we didn't see anyone with their shoulders uncovered. Ivana could've wore jeans too-- but she wanted to be wear more modest clothing. We are guests in their house, and this way would be more respectful.
One huge question still remains: What about at the BEACH?
Stay tuned for our next video!
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Nervous traveling as a woman in Saudi Arabia
00:42 - First time in a Saudi Arabian mall (familiar brands!)
1:54 - Underneath burka, Muslim women wear colorful and beautiful clothes!
2:38 - Saudi Arabian women are friendly & outgoing
3:47 - Blue haired woman & football in the mall
4:26 - What clothes should a female tourist to Saudi Arabia wear?
5:12 - First impressions of Saudi Arabian mall
6:13 - Hair covered not mandatory & BIKINIS!
7:11 - SURPRISE!
7:44 - This seems expensive...
9:51 - Shatie Market
10:31 - Shopping for MEDINA clothes
14:16 - Saudi Arabia has GOOD JUICE
14:55 - Final review: more familiar than different
16:52 - BONUS: More friends!
▶︎ BEST eSIM we use for our travels: holafly.sjv.io/o4v9gb, and use code JETLAGHOLA5 for 5% OFF
Music in the Video:
–
Music: Not Too Cray - Huma-Huma • Not Too Cray – Huma-Huma (No Copyrigh...
–
Faithful Mission by Artificial.Music / artificial-music
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/artif...
Music promoted by Audio Library • Faithful Mission – Artificial.Music (...
–
▶︎Join the JetFam channel membership to get access to perks, including live members only chat:
youtube.com/channel/UC1soWWg79S9TUdSjzAHHftw/join
▶︎If you like our videos and would like to support us, consider buying us a cup of coffee (or chai / teh tarik)! ☕️:
buymeacoffee.com/jetlagwarriors
There are a lot of misconceptions about Muslim women in general, but especially in Saudi Arabia. We've learned a lot about the truth about how Islam treats women in our travels around Saudi Arabia. So, I decided to make this video to share them with you all.
Let's start with an admission from Steve: Before I came to Saudi Arabia, I had never had a conversation, or even a single word, with a woman who had her face covered. Sure, there are women wearing full burka or niqab in Toronto, Canada (my hometown), and I've seen them around-- but our entire 'relationship' consisted of walking past eachother silently in the supermarket. I would guess this is not uncommon among most Christian Canadians or non-Muslims.
It's a difficult place for me to strike up a conversation... and so what happens is these women are an unknown. The most I know about them is from either rumor or assumption.
Examples--
Someone tells me:
"I heard they aren't allowed to do anything without the permission of their husband"
or
I assume in my head:
"I guess they just want to be invisible, best not to interact with, that must be what they want"
Now, let's talk about the video!
We start at Red Sea mall in Jeddah. Majority of people in there are women, both customers and staff. Majority of them don't have their face covered, and maybe 10% don't have their hair covered. They're interacting not only with themselves-- laughing as they walk aroudn the mall, buying stuff-- but also with us! (Especially baby Jean. She's a big hit in Saudi Arabia) They're buying lots of stuff, walking around with big bags and even sometimes flashy gold bracelets on their wrist.
There's even one woman, with her face covered, who's trying to give out samples of perfume. She approaches everyone that goes past, giving a scented paper to them and informing them of the deals. My guess is she has to approach dozens of people to make a sale. Talk about confidence, and no fear of dealing with rejection! I, myself, probably couldn't handle that job. I think I am too introverted.
And so, right off the top, we learn that there doesn't seem to be any law regarding covering your face. Women are not under constant supervision from their husbands... and, invisible? They're outgoing! Don't believe western media! What most Westerners heard and fear about Islam and Sharia law are often exaggerated by the media.
The beauty of travel :)
Next: how should women tourists dress in Saudi Arabia?
Ivana's idea was: there will be some range of most-modestly-dressed (full burka, hijab, everything) and least-modestly-dressed (a tourist who's really pushing the limits). Ivana's intention was not to be on the very end of the least-modestly-dressed spectrum. So, she did change her wardrobe slightly. She brought some more loose fitting clothes and covered shoulders. She didn't cover her hair, although she will choose to in Medina-- a very holy city-- which is our next stop on this video series.
With that being said, around Jeddah we saw lots of women wearing tight jeans. Even leggings. Although we didn't see anyone with their shoulders uncovered. Ivana could've wore jeans too-- but she wanted to be wear more modest clothing. We are guests in their house, and this way would be more respectful.
One huge question still remains: What about at the BEACH?
Stay tuned for our next video!
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Nervous traveling as a woman in Saudi Arabia
00:42 - First time in a Saudi Arabian mall (familiar brands!)
1:54 - Underneath burka, Muslim women wear colorful and beautiful clothes!
2:38 - Saudi Arabian women are friendly & outgoing
3:47 - Blue haired woman & football in the mall
4:26 - What clothes should a female tourist to Saudi Arabia wear?
5:12 - First impressions of Saudi Arabian mall
6:13 - Hair covered not mandatory & BIKINIS!
7:11 - SURPRISE!
7:44 - This seems expensive...
9:51 - Shatie Market
10:31 - Shopping for MEDINA clothes
14:16 - Saudi Arabia has GOOD JUICE
14:55 - Final review: more familiar than different
16:52 - BONUS: More friends!
▶︎ BEST eSIM we use for our travels: holafly.sjv.io/o4v9gb, and use code JETLAGHOLA5 for 5% OFF
Music in the Video:
–
Music: Not Too Cray - Huma-Huma • Not Too Cray – Huma-Huma (No Copyrigh...
–
Faithful Mission by Artificial.Music / artificial-music
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/artif...
Music promoted by Audio Library • Faithful Mission – Artificial.Music (...
–
▶︎Join the JetFam channel membership to get access to perks, including live members only chat:
youtube.com/channel/UC1soWWg79S9TUdSjzAHHftw/join
▶︎If you like our videos and would like to support us, consider buying us a cup of coffee (or chai / teh tarik)! ☕️:
buymeacoffee.com/jetlagwarriors
