ABHA — Many Saudi families ask their drivers to dress in traditional Saudi clothing, especially if they are responsible for transporting their daughters, to avoid harassment from young men. Some drivers do not normally like to wear these types of clothes all day, but are forced to wear it at the insistence of the families they work for. A Saudi woman said she used to face harassment and, to avoid this, she started taking her brother or a child with her. Then one of her brothers suggested that her driver wear Saudi clothing, and the idea worked. Another woman said some young men do not differentiate between an elder woman and a young girl and harass them regardless. Because of the worry this caused her, she had her driver wear Saudi clothing. Maha Al-Aamer said her family ensures the driver wears Saudi clothing as part of a unified dress code for all their workers. Other house workers also have a certain uniform they must adhere to. The workers do not object to it but new workers sometimes tend to forget, she said, adding those who break the dress code are then punished by her father. A citizen said he noticed women exiting their cars while their companion remains in the car, later realizing that it was the family driver dressed in Saudi clothing. He added that this has not become a popular trend, but it is more prevalent in some areas than others. It is the head of the family's decision to have the driver wear Saudi clothing to protect his family from harassment, the citizen said. He added that in most areas he visited, he noticed that drivers of families wear Saudi clothing to the point that he could not differentiate between them and locals. His curiosity led him to ask some families why they made their drivers wear Saudi dress. Some families said they resort to this to avoid harassment, others consider it a sign of prestige, while other families impose it on the driver to maintain elegance and cleanliness. However, another citizen said today's young men are not stupid and cannot be fooled this way, especially when they have young sisters. He said they would know from the driver's physical features whether he is a Saudi or a foreigner and some of the drivers do not wear the Saudi clothing properly. Of course, there are others who have perfected it to the point that they are mistaken for a local. Speaking in broken Arabic, an Asian driver said he had to wear Saudi clothing as per his employer's request, as it would demonstrate the family's prestige and limit the harassment from young men. In the beginning, it bothered him, but he later got used to it and noticed that incidents of harassment had greatly abated and become almost non-existent. Hanan Fadel, a family specialist, said this is only a temporary solution to avoid harassment while young women are out of the house. He stressed the importance of educating the community, especially young people, that this behavior may have a detrimental psychological effect on women. She added that some household heads or male family member may not be available all the time, thus forcing the family to use the driver for their outings and dress him in Saudi clothing to avoid any harassment. Saudi authorities have frequently warned that anyone found guilty of harassing women in shopping centers and other public places of imprisonment. Attempts by men to get to know unrelated females by asking to exchange phone numbers or commenting on their beauty is considered harassment in traditional Saudi society.
