Riyadh: Abdul Latif Al Shaikh’s effort follows moves by King Abdullah to loosen some restrictions on Saudis and improve the position of women in Saudi society, changes intended to ease the kind of social and economic pressures that fuelled the Arab Spring revolutions that challenged governments across the region.
The king decreed last year that women would be able to vote in municipal elections and take positions in the Shura council, the king’s advisory body. Two Saudi women represented the kingdom at the Olympics for the first time this year, despite a ban on women taking part in sports inside the kingdom.
King Abdullah’s appointment in January of Al Shaikh was also seen as a reformist move. Al Shaikh has a relatively liberal image, having argued in the past that ikhtilat, the social mixing of men and women, isn’t proscribed by Islamic law, and that women should be allowed to work even if it involves encountering men. His appointment by King Abdullah came less than 24 hours after the posting of a YouTube video allegedly showing religious police beating a local family.
