Women in Saudi Arabia will be allowed to enter sports areas for the first time starting next year, officials have announced. The landmark move is the latest step towards social reforms in the ultra-conservative kingdom.
Saudi women were allowed to enter a stadium in Riyadh for the first time last month, but only to attend the country's national day celebrationsImage: Getty Images/AFP/F. Nureldine
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In a surprise move on Sunday, sports authorities in Saudi Arabia announced that women will be able to attend sporting events in stadiums starting in 2018.
The country's General Sports Authority announced the move on Twitter, writing that three stadiums in the cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Damman are being prepped "to accommodate families" next year.
The authority added that restaurants, cafes and monitor screens would be set up inside the stadiums.
"Sports stadiums in Saudi Arabia to open their doors to welcome women in 2018," wrote Princess Reema Bandar bint Al-Saud, the Vice President for Women's Affairs of the General Sports Authority, on Twitter.
Frequently criticized for its strict restrictions on women, Saudi Arabia has long barred women from entering sports arenas due to strict rules on segregating the sexes in public.
Last month, authorities allowed women to enter a sports stadium in Riyadh for the first time to celebrate Saudi Arabia's national day.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has lifted its driving ban on women and made other strides toward granting women equal rights. But progress is incredibly slow, and lags far behind the rest of the world.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Ammar
1955: First school for girls, 1970: First university for women
Girls have not always been able to go to school like these students in Riyadh. Enrollment at the first school for girls, Dar Al Hanan, began in 1955. The Riyadh College of Education, the first higher education institution for women, opened in 1970.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Nureldine
2001: ID cards for women
At the start of the 21st century, women could get personal ID cards for the first time. The cards are the only way for them to prove who they are, for example in disputes relating to inheritance or property issues. IDs were only issued with the permission of a woman's guardian, though, and to the guardian instead of directly to the woman. Only in 2006 were women able to get IDs without permission.
Image: Getty Images/J. Pix
2005: End of forced marriages - on paper
Saudi Arabia banned forced marriage in 2005, but marriage contracts continue to be hammered out between the husband-to-be and the father of the bride, not the bride herself.
Image: Getty Images/A.Hilabi
2009: The first female government minister
In 2009, King Abdullah appointed the first female minister to Saudi Arabia's government. Noura al-Fayez became the deputy education minister for women's affairs.
Image: Foreign and Commonwealth Office
2012: First female Olympic athletes
Saudi Arabia agreed to allow female athletes to compete on the national team for the Olympics for the first time. One of them was Sarah Attar, who ran the women's 800 meter race at the 2012 Olympics in London wearing a headscarf. Before the Games, there was speculation that the Saudi Arabian team might be banned for gender discrimination if they didn't allow women to participate.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/J.-G.Mabanglo
2013: Women are allowed to ride bicycles and motorbikes
Saudi leaders allowed women to ride bicycles and motorbikes for the first time in 2013 — but only in recreational areas, wearing full Islamic body covering and with a male relative present.
Image: Getty Images/AFP
2013: First women in the Shura
In February 2013, King Abdullah swore in the first 30 women to the Shura, Saudi Arabia's consultative council. This allowed women to be appointed to these positions, soon they would be allowed to actually run for office...
Image: REUTERS/Saudi TV/Handout
2015: Women can vote and get elected
In Saudi Arabia's 2015 municipal elections, women were able to vote and run for office for the first time. By contrast, New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote, in 1893. Germany did so in 1919. At the 2015 Saudi polls, 20 women were elected to municipal roles in the absolute monarchy.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Batrawy
2017: First female head of the Saudi stock exchange
In February 2017, the Saudi stock exchange names the first female chairperson in its history, Sarah Al Suhaimi.
Image: pictur- alliance/abaca/Balkis Press
2018: Women to be allowed in sports stadiums
On October 29, 2017, the country's General Sports Authority announced that women would be allowed into sports stadiums for the first time. Three previously male-only arenas will soon be open for women as well, starting in early 2018.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Nureldine
2018: Driving ban eliminated
On September 26, 2017, Saudi Arabia announced that women would soon be allowed to drive, causing a flurry of driving courses for women to prepare for June 2018, when they would no longer need permission from their male guardian to get a driver's license or need their guardian in the car when they drive.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Jamali
2019: Saudi women to be notified by text message if they are divorced
The new law, designed to protect them from having their marriage ended without their knowledge, will allow women to check their marital status online or visit a court to get a copy of divorce papers. Human rights defenders say the law does nothing to address the fact that Saudi women can only obtain divorces in exceedingly limited cases — such as with her husband’s consent or if he has harmed her.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Ammar
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Saudi Arabia's surprising social reforms
Sunday's landmark announcement is in line with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's recent reform drive, with the ultra-conservative kingdom showing signs of relaxing some of its restrictions on women.
#IAmMyOwnGuardian: Protesting male guardianship in Saudi Arabia
Last week, the prince promised the kingdom will return to "what we were before — a country of moderate Islam that is tolerant of all religions and to the world."
The decision to allow women into sports arenas follows a July reform by the education ministry letting girls take part in sports at state schools.
It also comes on the heels of a historic royal decree last month that said women in Saudi Arabia would be allowed to drive.
Still, under Saudi Arabia's current guardianship system, a male family member — typically the father, husband or brother — must grant permission for women to be able to travel, study or do other activities.
