Khaleej Times: A group of Saudi women are planning a hotel in the capital exclusively for women. It has been reported that the ‘women only’ hotel will be opened in the near future.
The hotel owners explained that their hotel meets the current market demand in the country. They said that in recent years, Saudi women have been playing an increasing role in the public and social life of the kingdom, travelling extensively around the country.
However, in many cases hotels refuse to book rooms for women in advance unless it is done by a male guarantor. Every Saudi woman must have a male guarantor, regardless of age. It could be her father, husband or any other male member of the family. Hotels in the country usually accommodate women as family members accompanying men.
But the owners of the new hotel say today's businesswomen, who often travel to Riyadh on their own to attend various events or simply to visit expensive shops, find the current situation inconvenient, and the ‘female hotel’ is intended to help them make their trips ‘more enjoyable’.
Saudi women have started entering the mainstream of national life and hope that social attitudes towards them would continue to progress under Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. Women’s issues have been given an unprecedented attention in Saudi television programmes, radio shows, newspapers and private meetings in recent years.
“This is in addition to women consultants, who were recently appointed to aid and advice the Shoura Council on women-related issues,” said Dr Fauzia Al Bakr, a professor at King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh.
Al Bakr said that the ministries of education and higher education have taken steps to provide employment to women.
According to a report released by the education ministry, the first five women deans are already working with the ministry. This would help meet the research needs of 102 girls’ colleges in the kingdom and help promote their educational and social development. |