DUBAI: Saudi Arabia's religious police raided a party at a popular hotel where some 100 girls reportedly participated in a contest for the most beautiful ‘tomboy.' Members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, backed by police, raided the party at the hotel in the eastern port of Khobar and arrested most of the participants, Sabq Arabic language daily said. Police also seized a large quantity of energy drinks, "Satanist" items and a crown to be awarded to the winner in the contest, it said. "The party was staged under the cover of a graduation ceremony. A man and a woman who organized the party were arrested," it said, adding that most of the girls were later handed over to their parents who had not known it involved tomboys. The bending of sexuality in Saudi Arabia is shunned by the ultra-conservative authorities, who earlier this year booted a number of Emirati men from the country because they were "too beautiful" and threatened social stability. Homosexuality of any kind is banned and the death penalty can be sought for gay people. BN
