An Egyptian hotel worker has been arrested in Saudi Arabia after he was seen in an online video, eating with a fully veiled Saudi colleague, the kingdom’s labour ministry has said.
In the video widely shared on social media, the two eat at a desk and wave at the camera.
At one point, the woman, dressed in a robe which leaves only her hands and eyes visible, feeds the man a piece of food.
An inspection team visited the hotel in Mecca – Islam’s holiest site – and detained the Egyptian for working in a field restricted to Saudis, a ministry statement said.
The hotel owner was also summoned for failing to adhere to spatial controls for employing women. Official regulations state that workplaces should provide a private setting for female employees, separate from males, but this does not always happen.
