Free Republic

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – A Saudi woman arrested while attending a soccer game in the kingdom claims she did not know women were prohibited from going to the male-only stadiums, the state-linked Okaz newspaper reported on Monday. Saudi Arabia enforces a strict segregation of the sexes and has no designated areas for women at soccer stadiums ... Police spokesman Atti al-Qurashi said security spotted her at the stadium "deliberately disguised" in male attire to avoid detection, reported the state-linked news website Twasul. Okaz reported Sunday that police questioned the woman, who is in her twenties, for "impersonating" a man by...

MAKKAH: A Saudi woman who is seeking a divorce from her husband has claimed that a judge has refused to listen to her complaints at five scheduled hearings because she came to court without a male legal guardian each time. “The court at Al-Jumoum outside Makkah city set five hearings in my case, but each time I went the judge refused to see me or listen to my case because I had no male guardian with me,” said the woman, Um Hasan. She and her estranged husband have been married for 17 years during which time they have had six...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Before her wedding last year, Huda Batterjee went abroad to buy her bridal lingerie — she just couldn't bear the humiliation of discussing her most intimate apparel with a man. ... Now a group of Saudi women — sick of having to deal with male sales staff when buying bras or panties, not to mention frilly negligees or thongs — have launched a campaign this week to boycott lingerie stores until they employ women. .. .. Fitting rooms are banned in the kingdom .. "I have bras with sizes ranging from 32 to 38 because I...