The participation of Saudi women in sports has always been disputed. Physical education was banned in girls’ schools, but allowed for boys. Majoring in sports education was not an option for female undergraduates, but was open to male students. Women were not allowed to compete as athletes in international sporting events or to join as spectators in national […]
For a long time, there was a wide consensus among the Saudi population that a woman’s place belongs at home. The direct influence of religious figures played a key role in maintaining a patriarchal system that existed from home, all the way to governmental institutions. In the past, Saudi women accepted this patriarchal system and […]
Not so long time ago, religion constituted the backbone of Saudi Arabia’s society and culture. Growing up in Riyadh in the 1980s, I witnessed an excessiveness of religion that was considered the norm. Religion was not only taught in school or practiced at home; it governed the unconscious drives and instincts of the Saudi population. […]