Saudi Arabia celebrates its first ever Women's Day in Riyadh

[TomSea]

Saudi Arabia celebrates its first ever Women's Day in Riyadh
Ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom is ranked 134 out of 145 countries for gender equality
By Samuel Osborne

Saudi Arabia has celebrated its own Women’s Day, a first for the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom.

A three-day gathering was held at the King Fahd Cultural Centre in the capital of Riyadh.

It featured speakers who argued for women’s rights to drive and called for an end to the country's male guardianship system.

Female members of the Saudi royal family also attended the event, with Princess Al-Jawhara bint Fahd Al-Saud hosting a discussion on women’s roles in education.

Continued: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-first-ever-womens-day-riyadh-ultra-conservative-islamic-kingdom-guardianship-driving-a7563586.html

[mountaineer]

But no driving!

[endicom]

The floggings were magnificent.

[mountaineer]

Women welcome at a Saudi Arabia Starbucks shop after temporary ban
By Henry Hanks, CNN
Feb. 8, 2016

To the Western world, it's a surprising thing to see.
Until very recently, one Starbucks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, had a sign with the phrase, "Please no entrance for ladies."
The sign went up after a wall segregating families and single people when entering the coffee house fell down.

The temporary solution was to ban women from entering the Starbucks.

The full sign said, "PLEASE NO ENTRY FOR LADIES ONLY SEND YOUR DRIVER TO ORDER THANK YOU."  ...

More - yes, this is from last year