Saudi Arabia is breaking a strict tradition on the shores of the sea

Saudi Arabia is breaking a strict tradition on the shores of the sea


Release Date: 2017/8/2

Saudi Arabia is preparing to break its strict religious traditions and open a beach resort on the Red Sea coast to foreign women who will be able to take sunbaths in bikinis alongside men, according to a report in The Times.
The project is the brainchild of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and will be funded by the country's public investment fund, headed by the young prince.
"The Red Sea project will be a luxury resort located on several islands in the Red Sea and drowning in the manifestations of nature and culture," the fund said in a statement. "It will set new standards for sustainable development that will provide future generations with opportunities for luxury tourism and put Saudi Arabia on the international tourism map," he added.
This is a sign that the country is gradually opening up, with the encouragement of influential figures such as the crown prince of gradual change, amid a desire to attract foreign investment and tourism.
On the main beach of Saudi Arabia, women are asked to wear the abaya, a loose black robe that covers their normal clothes, in public places.
The Kingdom applies the "state" system, which means that women must obtain permission from a male relative to leave Saudi Arabia, study, or obtain many government and medical services. Men are also supposed to wear decent clothes.
In the kingdom, alcohol is banned, like homosexuality, and women are not allowed to drive. The principle of prevention of mixing is applied, and wearing a bikini is not considered essential.
Women are now allowed to vote in the municipal elections, while Saudi women have been allowed to participate in the Olympics for the first time in 2012. A decree issued by King Salman last month said the state should not be applied unless there was a sharia law.
On Tuesday, August 1, Saudi Arabia announced the launch of a massive tourism project, transforming 50 islands and a range of sites on the Red Sea coast into tourist resorts.
The project, which is the brainchild of Saudi Crown Prince Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is part of Saudi Arabia's efforts to diversify economic resources in the kingdom, which rely mainly on oil, to counter the fall in prices.
The resort, which stretches over 322 km of golden beaches over 50 islands off the west coast of the kingdom, will be governed by rules separate from the rest of the country, which severely restrict the dress and conduct of women.

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