However, in a landmark 2013 decision, girls in private schools were given permission to attend PE classes, but only in they adhered to a ‘decent dress code’ that was compliant with the sharia law. But such freedom is still a distant dream for girls studying in public institutions that segregate students based on their gender.
Demanding that girls be allowed to play the sport of their choice, many Saudi citizens took to twitter to demand lifting the ban on girls having access to PE.
Users used an Arabic hashtag which meant ‘sports for girls at schools’, to express their views on the issue. There were over 124k tweets on the hashtag, with many expressing strong opinion for either or against the ban, while some just mocked the idea.
Some users couldn't believe that there was a ban on girl playing sports in the first place.
Some users felt that the lifting of the ban would not benefit girls in anyway and that it would threaten the social values of the society.
Last year, the Shura Council had demanded the state-run school should relax their rule and allow women to attend the gym class, a move that was applauded by the International Olympic Committee and Human Rights Watch.
The spokesperson for
