RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is relaxing its restrictions on girls able to play sports in the country, but at the same time the ultra-conservative country again showed its ugly face towards women with a university recently banning women from hugging on campus. Girls in Saudi Arabia are to be allowed to take part in school sports for the first time in what some observers say is a sign that the Islamic kingdom is inching forward on the contentious issue of women's rights. Female students enrolled in private girls' schools will be able to take part as long as they wear ‘decent clothing' and are supervised by female Saudi instructors within the tight regulations of the country's Ministry of Education, the official Saudi Press Agency announced Sunday. But it comes as a Saudi Arabian website shared a document allegedly issued by an all female university warning them to not “hug" each other or they would face being transferred to a mental examination by the school. The document also states that al-Baha University, located in the south of the ultra-conservative Kingdom, will force female students who violate the rule and hug each other to take religious studies all year around, to “amend" their behavior. A strong online reaction lashed out at the university, with commentators accusing the university of being obsessed with sex. An online hashtag was created to respond to the document, denouncing the extreme decree. The university has not commented on the document and Bikyanews.com awaits their reply to questions sent to them on Wednesday. Whether friendly embraces should be punished in a mental institution or not, the Saudi Kingdom is still far behind the rest of the world when to comes to personal and civil rights. Recently, the country allowed its female citizens to “ride bicycles" in public, as long as they are accompanied by a male guardian. Saudi women are also not allowed to drive their own cars and must rely on a man to get around. ** Manar Ammar contributed to this report. BN
