Runaway Saudi Girls

Today, I learnt about another sad story from a Saudi friend. A young girl, the daughter of an acquaintance, was suspected of running away from home. She is only 17, a student in high school, with a promising future. From what her mum related, she had suddenly become rebellious and even refused to continue wearing the niqab. At that time, her mum thought she was acting under the influence of her teen friends who weren't covering their faces completely. 


She has gone missing for over 2 weeks now. Her wardrobe is half empty and she is not at any of her relatives' home. Where could she be? Her mum's best guess is that she has run away with a lover. Not surprising if she was a Western or European girl; this is so common. But a young Saudi girl?


Only a few weeks ago, Arab News reported that the number of Saudi girls running away from their homes was increasing. Just like many other things that happen in the country, cases like this are treated discreetly, and too often we do not know the real frequency of certain events.


Who is to blame here? To start with, sometimes the families are blamed for being very violent and too strict on their female children than on males. Other people accuse these bright guys that we put in our living-rooms, TV, to entertain us. And then, some of you are to blame, expatriate guys. 


Yes, expatriate guys are even accused of luring these young Saudi girls away from their families. An Arab News reporter even described them as hunks. How a young Saudi girl finds herself in such a situation, only God knows. If these girls are copying what they see on TV, then they are surely heading the wrong way because life in Saudi Arabia is definitely not the same as in Western countries. If your Romeo lets you down, you are in for trouble because not only you can't go back to your family since you brought shame on them, you can't even hope to find an odd job to sustain you. 


It is pathetic for a young girl to throw her life away and head into the unknown. May God help these lost kids.