Well, it took some creative work-arounds, but Wednesday evening saw a historic event in Riyadh: men and women sat together at a soccer game. This is what goes for civil rights progress in Saudi Arabia... but let's try to look on the bright side. (See our earlier report for background.)
The compromise that enabled such a monumental breakthrough was the Saudi authorities decision to let Swedish fans (and a few Saudis, evidently) sit in a "media" section, although it appears few were actually journalists.
Elaph has a photo gallery from the historic day. It's worth checking out, as it captures a moment of bizarre encounter between one of the world's most open societies and one of the most closed. International soccer forced them to collide. Soccer passions trumped "multi-cultural" sensitivies, as Swedish women demanded to see their national team in action. And Saudi authorities ultimately relaxed their institutionalized segregation.
There is, it appears, a limit to tolerating intolerance. And just maybe the movement to overturn discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia will become known as "The Soccer Revolution". Maybe.
P.S. For more on this larger struggle, see Mody Al-Khalaf's latest column:
I ask for my Islamic rights to travel with any “mahram” and not just my legal guardian. I ask for my Islamic right to eat at a restaurant without a male chaperone. I ask for my Islamic right to drive and not be forced to ride alone with a non-mahram. I ask for my Islamic right to get medical treatment without male consent. I ask for my Islamic right to rent a house without male consent. I ask for my Islamic right to get an education and job without male consent.
And finally, as a Muslim, I ask for my right to choose. In any argument, a Muslim has the right to choose the interpretations he or she wants instead of being forced to go along with other people’s choices. Since I am speaking about women’s rights in particular, where are my rights to choose the interpretations I want regarding my hijab, for example? Whether to cover my face or not is open to several interpretations; and there is certainly no Islamic law that says I must wear black.
Not to mention the right to attend a soccer game...
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