I take it you have no problems taking pictures there. Here its still very much taboo and considering the security issues here people are a bit paranoid. I want to take more pics of Saudi and post them, but I have to find a sneaky way of doing it to bring less attention to the fact I'm taking pics.
Being legal only means that the prices have gone down. I told my husband I want one now to take easier pictures.
There was some confusion if they were in fact every illegal. Not like the market wasn't flooded with them. I think it was more of a muttawah issue than anything. But there is a very harsh sentence for anyone caught sharing porno. Of course no word on satellites that show porno that are very legal in the country.
The word here was that they were illegal in Saudia because they would specifically ask for them at the border, and confiscate them (they would return them when you left).
That may have applied only to foreigners.
They are legal here, but you always have to use caution... people are very camera shy. The classic horror story of course is someone surreptitiously taking photos of women at a wedding.
Weddings are an occassion where Qatarias let their hair down (literally). They dress up in their finest clothes and jewelry, and dance, waving their hair as they do.
For someone to take a photo of them in this state is utterly mortifying to Qatari woman...the only comparison I could draw for westerners would be imagine if someone secretly took pictures of you in the shower...
The cameras are legal, but if you have one at functions like this, expect it to be taken from you until the party is over.
Here there was confusion if they were really illegal or not. Because saudi until recently didn't say Ok you can have them people assumed them illegal because of the mutawwah.
Yes some people could have them confiscated, including saudis. But it was so normal that everyone had one that most didn't care. It all was dependent if the customs guy wanted to give you a hard time or not, Saudi or foriegner.
There have been news reports about women beating down other members of a party for taking photos w/ their phones. And having been to a wedding or two its an all out ball type thing. I've never seen so much booty shaking lol. The dresses.. oh man, makeup and everything else. Many of the younger girls show their stuff as marriageble at weddings so they are expected to do it up a bit.
There is a private beach resort here, and they have a ladies and children section for swimming. They will take your camera phone, or other cameras on entrance. When I went one time there was a maid taking video, I told her put it away. I'm sitting there in a bathing suit and she's taking video. I had her hunted down by security and they took the tape, she couldn't get it back but got the camera when she left.
They had a devistating rape case here, where the video of the girl (saudi) being raped (Sudanese driver hired by two saudi boys) was sent around to peoples phones. People watched it and shared it, her shreaking and beaten and horribly raped. Its incidents like this that has lead to very harsh punishments for porno on the phones. Poor girl.
At least here there is an expectation of privacy even in public. The US position that privacy isn't to be assumed when your out and about is rediculous. Cameras in public rest rooms, attached to shoes to look up skirts. I expect privacy even in public, but the law there says other wise.. amazing.
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I take it you have no problems taking pictures there. Here its still very much taboo and considering the security issues here people are a bit paranoid. I want to take more pics of Saudi and post them, but I have to find a sneaky way of doing it to bring less attention to the fact I'm taking pics.
No problems taking pictures here, except military or goverment buildings of course. I heard that camera phones are legal now in Saudia...
Being legal only means that the prices have gone down. I told my husband I want one now to take easier pictures.
There was some confusion if they were in fact every illegal. Not like the market wasn't flooded with them. I think it was more of a muttawah issue than anything. But there is a very harsh sentence for anyone caught sharing porno. Of course no word on satellites that show porno that are very legal in the country.
The word here was that they were illegal in Saudia because they would specifically ask for them at the border, and confiscate them (they would return them when you left).
That may have applied only to foreigners.
They are legal here, but you always have to use caution... people are very camera shy. The classic horror story of course is someone surreptitiously taking photos of women at a wedding.
Weddings are an occassion where Qatarias let their hair down (literally). They dress up in their finest clothes and jewelry, and dance, waving their hair as they do.
For someone to take a photo of them in this state is utterly mortifying to Qatari woman...the only comparison I could draw for westerners would be imagine if someone secretly took pictures of you in the shower...
The cameras are legal, but if you have one at functions like this, expect it to be taken from you until the party is over.
Here there was confusion if they were really illegal or not. Because saudi until recently didn't say Ok you can have them people assumed them illegal because of the mutawwah.
Yes some people could have them confiscated, including saudis. But it was so normal that everyone had one that most didn't care. It all was dependent if the customs guy wanted to give you a hard time or not, Saudi or foriegner.
There have been news reports about women beating down other members of a party for taking photos w/ their phones. And having been to a wedding or two its an all out ball type thing. I've never seen so much booty shaking lol. The dresses.. oh man, makeup and everything else. Many of the younger girls show their stuff as marriageble at weddings so they are expected to do it up a bit.
There is a private beach resort here, and they have a ladies and children section for swimming. They will take your camera phone, or other cameras on entrance. When I went one time there was a maid taking video, I told her put it away. I'm sitting there in a bathing suit and she's taking video. I had her hunted down by security and they took the tape, she couldn't get it back but got the camera when she left.
They had a devistating rape case here, where the video of the girl (saudi) being raped (Sudanese driver hired by two saudi boys) was sent around to peoples phones. People watched it and shared it, her shreaking and beaten and horribly raped. Its incidents like this that has lead to very harsh punishments for porno on the phones. Poor girl.
At least here there is an expectation of privacy even in public. The US position that privacy isn't to be assumed when your out and about is rediculous. Cameras in public rest rooms, attached to shoes to look up skirts. I expect privacy even in public, but the law there says other wise.. amazing.
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