I highly recommend In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom by Qanta A. Ahmed, MD
Dr. Ahmed is a British citizen, a Muslim of Pakistani descent, who received her medical training in the US. Unable to extend her visa in the US, she took a job at a hospital in Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia.
I found this book absolutely fascinating - from the time she buys her first abayyah until she leaves it behind her on the plane out of Saudi.
She talks about the difficulties of being taken seriously as a doctor in such a male-dominated culture (of making hospital rounds while veiled!) She talks about the difficulties in forming relationships: she must be escorted by co-workers in visiting a (male) friend who has lost a child; she has no idea how to begin a flirtation with another doctor; she talks to friends about their arranged marriages.
She documents her experiences with the hajj, and her great love of Islam.
She tells of a private dinner party, given in a private room in a restaurant so that men and women may eat together -- only to be interrupted by the Mutawaeen - the (extremely dangerous) religious police, so influential that even married Saudis carry their marriages licenses at all times, to prove that they have a right to be in each others' company!
This is one of those non-fiction books that reads like fiction. Clearly Ahmed loves her Saudi friends; just as clearly, she has real difficulty with Saudi culture. Her time there was ending in September 2001, and her outlook towards Saudis was clearly colored by their responses to events in America.
Terrific book, with a great deal of insight into the position of women in Saudi Arabia.
