For the first time in Saudi Arabia, a government school has introduced sports for girls, after a call for the lifting of a ban on women in sports, press reports said on Sunday.Girls at Amal Institute in Jeddah competed in a volleyball tournament last week after the school built new sports facilities, also for basketball, tennis and hockey, Al-Hayat Arabic daily said.
In April, the Shoura Council recommended after a heated debate that the longstanding ban, already relaxed in private schools last year, be scrapped. The council cited a ruling the late Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Baz, a former mufti, that women were entitled to play sports “within the limits set by Islamic law.”
Labels: Saudi news, Sport, Women's Business