THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A girls' school in Saudi Arabia has defied a religious ban on female sports by erecting basketball hoops and letting pupils play at break-time, the daily al-Watan reported on Wednesday.
Powerful clerics in the conservative Islamic kingdom have long spoken against allowing girls to play sports.
Saudi Arabia's austere interpretation of Islamic law prevents women from working, opening bank accounts or having some elective surgery without the permission of a male relative. They are not allowed to drive.
King Abdullah has pushed for women to have better opportunities in education and employment and last year said they could vote and run for office in future municipal elections, the only official polls in the monarchy. » | Source: Reuters | Wednesday, April 25, 2012
