Saudi women smoke in public to ‘complete’ their freedom

RIYADH: Rima settles in a chair at an upscale Riyadh cafe, looks around carefully, and seeing no one she recognises, drags on her electronic cigarette and exhales a cloud of smoke.

“I feel that smoking in public is a part of exercising my newly won freedoms. I am happy that now that I can choose,” the 27-year-old Saudi who works for a private company in the capital told AFP. The sight of women smoking in public has become much more common in recent months, an unthinkable prospect before the introduction of sweeping reforms in the kingdom. Rima, who started smoking two years ago, dismisses concerns about the harmful effects of tobacco, but is worried her family will find out. She says she is prepared for a showdown. “I won´t tell them that this is about my personality liberty, because they won´t understand that women are free to smoke like men,” said Rima, dressed in a traditional black abaya with gold embroidery matching the hijab that covered her hair. Najla, 26, who like Rima asked to use a pseudonym, said that despite the rapid social changes, double standards still existed, and that it was still considered a “scandal and disgrace” if women smoked. The only woman lighting up amid several tables of male smokers, she said she intended to “challenge society” and ignore the occasional dirty looks.

“My rights will be fully respected when my family accepts me as a smoker,” she said, recalling that a friend was sent to an addiction clinic when her parents found out about her smoking. Najla started smoking while still a school student, and like her, up to 65 percent of female Saudi high schoolers light up secretly, according to a 2015 study by the medical faculty at King Abdulaziz University cited by Arab News.