Saudi Arabia's 'Women in Society' Conference Attended by Men Only

Photographs from last year’s “Women in Society” conference in Saudi Arabia show hundreds in attendance, all of whom were “apparently” male.

According to the Daily Mail, the conference was “reportedly held at the University of Qassim” and “was attended by representatives of 15 nations.” Photographs show the seats in the hall where the conference convened “filled with men wearing traditional Arab dress apart from one wearing a blue [checkered] shirt.”

None of the photographs appear to contain women. 

Wahhabi Sharia law keeps Saudi men and women so segregated that “they must use separate entrances at banks and offices.” Moreover, women are not allowed to drive, they “need permission from a male relative to work, travel, study, or marry, and a woman’s testimony counts for less than that of a man in a court of law.”

Saudi Arabia recently began allowing women to ride bicycles and motorbikes, as long as “they are accompanied by a male relative and dressed in full veil.”

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.