London: A footballer in Saudi Arabia was made to have a haircut since the country prohihits “eccentric and unIslamic hairstyles”. According to The Independent, footage shows Waleed Abdullah, a goalkeeper for Al Shabab and Saudi Arabia’s national team, having a small mohawk chopped off by the referee before being allowed onto the pitch.
It follows an announcement by Saudi Arabia’s youth federation asking football clubs and the Olympic committee to ‘ban the qazaa phenomenon’, using the Arabic term for eccentric hairstyles worn by athletes, according to Arabic sports website Arriyadiyah. Saudi Arabia practices a strict form of Sunni Islam - known as Wahabism.
After several years of international pressure, Saudi Arabia allowed women to compete in the Olympic Games in 2012. Saudi conservatives were opposed to the move as female public participation in sport was almost unheard in the country.
Women's freedom is restricted in the kingdom. They are not allowed to drive, work or go anywhere without a male guardian. They were only recently given the right to vote.
