SAUDI ARABIA PLAN TO BUILD WOMEN-ONLY CITY

Oil rich Saudi Arabia is planning to build a new city exclusively for women. Due to the increased agitation for  more freedom for women and calls for increased participation of women in the economy, the Saudi industrial property authority(MODON) is designing the women-only city with construction to commence next year. The objective of the city is to enable career minded women to work and still be within the limits of Sharia law which discourages interaction between men and women and places more emphasis on women as home builders instead of breadwinners.

Due to internal and international pressure Saudi Arabia is currently reforming it's extremely strict policies on women's rights and freedom allowing women the right to vote and be voted for in municipal elections in 2011. The country is embarking on the integration of more women into the workforce. Plans are in place to replace foreign sales people with Saudi women. Recently, female sales staff started replacing men in cosmetic stores and lingerie shops which previously had only male attendants. Women represent only about 15% of the total workforce in the country.

Despite the reforms Saudi Arabia remains the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive and just recently sent female participants to any Olympic games for the first time ever.