One of the toughest cultural challenges we faced in the beginning was the segregation between men and women. It was uncommon/illegal for groups of unrelated men and women to congregate in public (the restrictions on this have loosened over our time here).
Banks and other places of business have a women’s side and a men’s side. When Sean and I went to the internet provider, planning to talk through our options together, I was stopped at the door and made to walk around the corner to the women’s entrance where I sat in the waiting room, communicating with Sean by phone.
Restaurants and cafes (even Starbucks) have a family section and a singles section. The singles section refers to men who are alone, or groups of men, and the family side is for single women, groups of women, or families with men/women/children together.
Schools, weddings, and even family gatherings are often segregated. The men will be in one room and the women in another, with children as the go-betweens.
Sean and I were used to doing everything together, so this aspect of the culture took some getting used to. However, a lot of our friends are more westernized so we have gone to restaurants and bowling together, etc. This pic was taken at a laser tag place in the mall. Originally the arcade wasn’t going to allow me to play with our group, but our friends did some convincing and I was eventually allowed to participate.
Luckily the rules have changed somewhat (so Sean and I can do more things together with friends) but gender segregation is still very much a part of Islam, even if the government doesn’t require it. The more conservative the family, the more likely they will be to take segregation seriously.
This is a very complex topic that has often frustrated me (i.e. the internet situation, and that time where I had to eat on the sidewalk bc the restaurant didn’t have a family section, even though it was full of empty tables). However, we chose to come to this country and to integrate into their culture so even if there are aspects that are hard to adjust to, I feel it’s my responsibility to respect their way of life.
