Saudi Body Appears to Retract Call to End Gender Segregation

Date: 06 May 2018 - 21:32

News ID: ۵۲۶۲۸

RIYADH (Dispatches) – A Saudi body seems to have backtracked on a new initiative calling to end prayer-time store closures and gender segregation in public places - potentially divisive reforms for the deeply conservative kingdom.
Arabic-language newspaper Okaz reported that the Quality of Life program to improve life in Saudi Arabia had cited both practices as requiring "immediate change” in order to increase the public’s participation in its activities and boost investor confidence.
The article, published on Friday, was later removed. Reuters saw a copy of the document it cited, but a different version posted on an official website did not mention gender segregation or store closures among needed reforms. No timeframe was specified.
Loai Bafaqeeh, chief executive of the Quality of Life program, refused to comment on the apparent discrepancy.
"We are looking into all things that relate to the citizen and resident, including things that involve improving the quality of life, such as families entering sports stadiums and women driving,” he told Reuters by phone on Saturday.
Saudi Arabia has for decades imposed strict social rules. Much of that is now changing under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who curbed the powers of the religious police in 2016 as part of ambitious social and economic reforms that saw cinemas reopen last month after a nearly 40-year ban.
The kingdom, which is set to allow women to drive this summer but still requires them to have a male guardian, does not have an all-encompassing codified legal code.
The religious police still patrol some public spaces, but no longer harass people for being on the streets during prayer time or enter private establishments to enforce gender segregation.

An Artist paints a mural portrait of King Salman bin Abdulaziz (R) and his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the outskirts of Riyadh on February 17, 2018.