Telephone call centers: a haven for women who date [Archives:2006/918/Reportage]

Mohammed Al-Jabri
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Over the past 10 years, telephone call centers have spread markedly throughout Yemen's main cities. This, in turn, has made it easy for people to keep in touch with others inside and outside the country. But young people – most notably women – find it appropriate to use telephone call centers as places to await men with whom they have a date. A woman goes to such a center, phones the man she has a date with and waits there until he comes and takes her by car.

In fact, telephone call centers are good places for women to wait. For one thing, waiting for someone on the street, outside shops or public places seems inappropriate for women in Yemeni society. They even feel embarrassed to wait on outdoor benches. A man can await a friend in a cafe, supermarket or on the street, but this is not true for a woman. These factors and others lead women to turn to telephone call centers when awaiting someone, most notably for dating.

Telephone call center employee Lutf Ali says, “Every day, I see a lot of women come to this center. What strikes me most is that a woman is supposed to leave the center after making telephone calls, but she has a seat and waits for several minutes until a man comes and takes her by car.”

Suspicious places

Telephone call centers therefore have become places for decadent women. Some behave immorally, laughing and looking seductively at other clients who come to call. Inside a telephone booth, a woman sometimes removes her veil to apply cosmetics or lipstick and make sure she looks good. Consequently, some young men deliberately visit such centers only to tease or flirt with the women inside. A young man usually stands by the call center entrance, where he spends hours watching the women inside.

A client confessed that he once entered such a center to phone his friend. He went into a booth and noticed a young woman standing in another booth waving at him. He went to her and she told him she was ready to go with him to a furnished apartment where they could spend the night together.

Ali explains that some men come to call centers only to tease or flirt with any woman sitting inside. “In fact, this puts telephone call center employees in embarrassing situations, for they think it is impolite to ask women to leave the center.”

Many have begun to get the impression that women who frequently spend time in telephone call centers are not decent due to their bad behavior and conduct while in such places. By looking at telephone call centers around Sana'a University, the picture becomes clearer.

One can find numerous women coming in and out of these centers and easily spot 10 to 15 women sitting together on a bench inside. Two or three suddenly leave and get into a waiting car. University student Mahmoud said he once saw a luxury car approach a call center. A moment later, four young women exited the center and immediately got in the car.

Many consider this seductive behavior on women's part. “By sitting in a call center for several minutes, women give the impression they are going on a date,” Mahmoud said. But this is not true of all women. One easily can distinguish between decent and indecent women. A polite woman will just make a call and then leave, while those who remain for some time are considered licentious.

Alternatives

“Telephone call centers should not be used for dating,” call center employee Mansour Ahmed said. Of course, there are other places where men and women can meet, date and talk freely. Private parks exist nowadays, especially in Hadda zone. In such places one can find youths of both sexes to date. A woman sometimes waits in her workplace until the man she has a date with arrives and takes her. Several young men and women find an opportunity to date in high-class restaurants. In fact, this phenomenon has become apparent in Yemeni society due to the increasing number of licentious youths. It is not surprising to see a man driving his car, following a woman walking on the street.

Such people try not to be discovered by others while they do so. Three years ago in a Sana'a neighborhood, a man parked his car in front of a house, from which a woman came out and got into his car. Upon seeing them, neighborhood residents did not allow them to drive off and immediately beat the man, for they considered it an immoral act unacceptable by society. This is why most women worry when they go on a date or meet someone outside. When a woman awaits a man in a telephone call center, she usually seems anxious and worried for fear that some relative may discover her.

The question arises: Why do Yemeni youth conduct such cautious behavior? Do they fear censure by their society?
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