Saudis to allow women into sports stadiums from 2018

RIYADH

Saudi Arabia will allow women into sports stadiums for the first time from next year, authorities said Sunday, in a landmark move opening up three previously male-only venues to families.

The kingdom, which has some of the world’s tightest restrictions on women, has long barred women from sports arenas by strict rules on segregation of the sexes in public.

The announcement is in line with powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious reform drive shaking up the ultra-conservative kingdom, including the historic decision to allow women to drive from next June.

“Starting the preparation of three stadiums in Riyadh, Jeddah and Damman to be ready to accommodate families from early 2018,” the General Sports Authority said on Twitter.

Restaurants, cafes and monitor screens would be set up inside the stadiums, the authority added.

Last month hundreds of women were allowed to enter a sports stadium in Riyadh, used mostly for football matches, for the first time to mark Saudi Arabia’s national day.

Under the country’s guardianship system, a male family member - normally the father, husband or brother - must grant permission for a woman’s study, travel and other activities.

But the kingdom appears to be relaxing some norms as part of its “Vision 2030” plan for economic and social reforms, which aims to boost female employment.

In July, rights campaigners welcomed an “overdue” reform by the education ministry to allow girls to take part in sports at state schools.

In a rare public appearance last week at an investor summit in Riyadh, Prince Mohammed pledged a “moderate” Saudi Arabia, long seen as an exporter of a brand of puritanical Islam espoused by jihadists worldwide.

MBS, as he is well known, promised his kingdom will return to “what we were before - a country of moderate Islam that is tolerant of all religions and to the world.”

His comment, while unveiling plans for a $500 billion development zone, chimes with his public image of a bold liberal reformer in a conservative country where more than half the population is under 25.

Last month a royal decree said women would be allowed to drive. The kingdom is also expected to lift a public ban on cinemas and has encouraged mixed-gender celebrations -- something unseen before.

But the vision of creating a “moderate Saudi Arabia” is fraught with risks and could trigger a backlash from conservatives, analysts warn.

The government appears to have clipped the wings of the once-feared religious police - long accused of harassing the public with rigid Islamic mores - who have all but disappeared from big cities.

Some conservative clerics - who for years staunchly opposed more social liberties for women - have backpedalled and come out in favor of the decree allowing them to drive.