Egyptian Hotel Worker in Saudi Arabia Arrested for Sharing Breakfast with a Woman

In a spot of frankly petty news this fine Tuesday morning, an Egyptian hotel worker in Saudi Arabia (known as Bahaa) has been apprehended after having uploaded a video of him eating breakfast with a female co-worker on Twitter. For no conceivable reason, the video went viral, enough to catch the eye (and arm) of Saudi law.

The 30-second video, featuring a steamy scene where the woman feeds the man for all of one second, has sparked a wave of outrage in the ultra-conservative country from both citizen and official alike. In addition, the hotel’s owner has been summoned for failing to uphold the country’s strict gender-segregated workplace policies.

هُناك اكثر من المصري "بهاء" وسيناريوهاتهم تحدث يوميًا بين اسقف المولات والمجمعات التجارية فـ استحداث الوظائف للسعوديات بين الأجانب يُعد انفلات صريح للعادات والتقاليد والقيم .#مصري_يفطر_مع_سعوديه pic.twitter.com/r8prckcdf1

— حمود الضحيان ابونواف (@H_S_Alduhaiyan) September 9, 2018

One wonders how this sort of incident would occur in a time when Saudi women are finally being allowed to drive, cinemas are open to the public for the first time in decades, as well fashion shows, concerts and everything in between finally being introduced to the overly-conservative nation.