On July 20th, I met Hamad and Carolina at Aladdin's to partner in conversation. We talked about the traditions and culture of the Emirates, and especially those concerned with gender roles and relationships. Things are very different from how I would have imagined them, for example: while the leader (Emir) of the U.A.E. will never be a woman (at least under the current laws), women reach high ranks across many different public and private organizations, including the police chief of Hamad's detective unit. Women can drive, unlike in Saudi Arabia, and generally enjoy much better status than in some other Middle Eastern countries. We also discussed the typical path of dating and marriage that many Emiratis take. A man's mother picks out a woman for him to see, then he will view her breifly, by coming into a room where his mother, the other woman and the other woman's mother are sitting. He can decide later if he would like to see her again, or ask his mother to find him someone else.
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