Saudi Arabia To Allow Girls In Private Schools To Take Part In Sports

Girls in Saudi Arabia "are to be allowed to take part in school sports for the first time in the latest sign that the Islamic kingdom is inching forward on the contentious issue of women's rights," according to Lubna Hussain of NBC NEWS. The official Saudi Press Agency announced Sunday that 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." However, "most girls are educated in public schools where the rules forbidding female competitive sports will not be relaxed." It means school sports will remain restricted to members of the wealthy elite, "despite the country's need for more female athletes" (NBC NEWS, 5/6).