Sabaya Cafe

Back in May, Middle East Online ran an article on the Sabaya Cafe, a women-only cafe in Jordan. When I write about cafes in the Middle East, I'm writing about areas that have traditionally been a male preserve. In Fez, I don't think I ever saw a Moroccan woman in a cafe, though some had special rooms upstairs where couples could go. In Casablanca, I did see some women and couples in cafes, and the same goes for Essaouira. Still, the idea of one for women only is an interesting and potentially important societal innovation for a region where the idea of separate spheres and segregation of the sexes remains very powerful.