no it’s not. The society has many freedoms and the women live in accordance with long held custom.
People are free to come and go as they please. They travel widely all over the world.
The crime rate is nearly 0.
Many of the rules they have were and are enforced in some parts of America today. That is in Christian communities.
The christian zelots have dropped their extreme insistance on no alcohol, female head to toe dress, long hair, no make up, no TV, No radio and on and on.... Don’t say know because it is still lingers tody.
http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2003/issue3/jv7n3a2.html
Poverty is one of the immediate manifestations of unemployment. In Saudi Arabia, poverty is reflected in high population growth, in poor housing and inadequate social services. To dramatize the problem of poverty in Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Abdallah toured homes of poor people in Riyadh for an hour and a half. He called on the wealthy people of Saudi Arabia to do more for the poor, which, as will be discussed later, is the Saudi way of addressing urgent social issues. A striking manifestation of poverty is the large and growing number of street beggars. According to published data, the number of arrested Saudi street beggars, both male and female has been on the increase. Most alarming is the number of beggars who are children. A Saudi journalist complains about “convoys of human beings who arrive every day… who could be a source of danger to the citizen and the security of the land.” The author, Salwa abu Mideen, complains that beggars search the garbage cans, which cause “the spread of bad odors, flies and mosquitoes.”(24)
At the same time, the elite has a very high standard of living. In 2002, the Saudis charged $19 billion against their Visa credit cards, an increase of 23 percent over the previous year. The average annual charges were $8700 per card.(25) The kingdom imports more than 275,000 cars a year at a cost of 41 billion riyals ($10.9 billion), in addition to spare parts at a cost of 9 billion riyals ($2.4 billion).(26) It is revealing that Saudi Arabia is perhaps the only country in which Mercedes cars are advertised as gift items...
Like freedom of religion?
Home Sweet Home -- Bedoin Ingenuity We discovered this "new home" while exporing the desert near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The structure is built primarily out of vehicle frames stood on end. The roof is made of rugs and skins. Of course, it doesn't rain much there...