Excerpt:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/03...tion-push.html
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says women are 'absolutely' equal to men, continues modernization push
Christopher Carbone By Christopher Carbone | Fox News
Who is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman?
A look at Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from his spending habits to his policy changes that are making waves across the globe.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a man on a mission.
Known to many simply by his initials, MBS, the 32-year-old was given expansive new powers by his father just nine months ago and arrives Tuesday in Washington, D.C. for a summit with President Trump in the midst of a major push to modernize his conservative Islamic Kingdom.
Bin Salman has already instituted a series of surprising reforms to make the Muslim country -- known for its bearded religious police enforcing strict social codes -- more open and accepting of Western norms.
Last fall, the Kingdom agreed for the first time to allow women to drive. After 35 years, movie theaters will open again (they were shut in the 1980s during a wave of ultra-conservatism). In a break with the rigid guardianship that’s defined the kingdom for decades, it was recently announced that women can launch their own businesses without consent from a husband or male relative. And a prohibition on women attending sporting events in national stadiums was lifted.
During an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” the crown prince, who has curtailed the ability of religious police to arrest women for dress code violations, said women are equal to men: “We are all human beings and there is no difference.”
FILE PHOTO: Saudi Arabia's then Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reacts upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, June 24, 2015. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo - RC16762C2D00
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is pushing for modernization in his conservative Islamic country. (Reuters)
Although Saudi women have been dictated by custom and the religious police to wear the abaya, a full-length black cloak that covers everything except their hands and face in public, bin Salman pushed back against that idea during the interview.
“The laws are very clear and stipulated in the laws of Sharia: that women wear decent, respectful clothing, like men,” said bin Salman. “This, however, does not particularly specify a black abaya or a black head cover. The decision is entirely left for women to decide what type of decent and respectful attire she chooses to wear.”
Bin Salman went on to explain that “extremists” forbidding the mixing of men and women are pushing ideas that “contradict the way of life during the time of the prophet and the Caliphs.”
In another sign of liberalization, Saudi Arabia will issue its first tourist visas later this year to attract money from overseas visitors. Under bin Salman’s ‘Vision 2030’ initiative, the Kingdom wants to have 30 million visitors per year by 2030 and it wants annual tourism spending to hit $47 billion by 2020.