Doctor Doctor

Medical care in Saudi Arabia is interesting. You have to understand the culture to understand that it reaches everywhere, including the hospitals, even the pharmacies. Men and women do not intermingle, period. Men obviously accompany their wife, but they do not sit among a group of women. I have mentioned briefly this segregation. In the airport I was moved out of the line full of men and placed in a line for women and families. In restaraunts their are sections for men that are alone, so they can't be with the women and families. I am not sure yet why this is the case, but that is the way it is, period. And, this extends to the hospital.

In the hospital there is a seperate waiting room for the women, it is curtained off. All the nurses are women. When I walked into the waiting room I was surrounded by women, I assume they were all are Saudi, they were shrouded in black, head to toe, most of them had their eyes covered as well, and most of them had on gloves. I waited in the room until a nurse took me to the Doctor's office, where he met with me, but the rules say that a female attendant had to be present for even a consultation. This isn't a big deal, I have had doctors do this before. Then, I went to fill my prescription, I walked into a very small, curtained off room, women only, and the room was literally packed with black robed women. It is almost intimidating. I am so used to being able to read people by seeing their eyes, and I can't see their eyes, it throws me off. I wonder how they get to know each other? I am not mocking anything, just curious.

I really would like to learn more about the basis for this protectionism. Women really are protected here, separated from the men so that nothing bad could happen. I wonder if it works, on a criminal basis. I wonder if their are fewer sexual attacks and crimes because of the cultural protections that have been in place for so long. It would be interesting to see if there are any studies on this issue. Google, I'm going to have to find out!