A small move forward, women now allowed to ride bicycles for recreation in Saudi Arabia

If you think that this cycling outfit is restricting then consider what the poor Saudi women have to wear.

Well it’s a small move forward I suppose even if quite plainly doesn’t go far enough.

The Gulf News reports that women in Saudi Arabia will now be allowed to ride bicycles and buggies for recreation if not for everyday transport.  However they are still advised to have one of their male relatives slave owners accompany them when they ride.

“Saudi women have been allowed to ride buggies and bikes in public after the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice lifted a ban on them.

Under the new rules, women can use parks, esplanades and open desert areas and enjoy themselves as long as they are modestly dressed, sources from the Commission told local Arabic daily Al Youm.

A male relative should be present to ensure he can provide prompt assistance in case of falls or accidents, the source said.

Women wishing to ride the buggies or bikes should avoid places where there are assemblies of young people to protect themselves from physical or verbal harassment and possible theft, he said.”

Can you imagine the sort of backwards dungheap of a society that in the modern world doesn’t allow someone to ride a bicycle just because they don’t possess a penis?  I can and it’s called the Islamic kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  If anything summed up the appalling position of women in Saudi then it has to be the headline ‘Women now allowed to ride bikes’.

Links

Original full story at Gulf News

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/saudi-women-allowed-to-ride-bikes-in-public-1.1165318

Hat Tip http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/