RIYADH, 4 April 2006 — Tired of playing second fiddle to men in Saudi Arabia, five women decided if you can’t beat them, join them. Al-Watan daily newspaper said the five women underwent sex change surgery abroad over the past 12 months after they developed a “psychological complex” due to male domination. Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive or even go to public places unaccompanied by a male relative. The newspaper quoted a senior scholar as saying the authorities have to fill what he described as a legal vacuum by issuing laws against sex change operations. An Interior Ministry official told Al-Watan such cases are examined by religious authorities, and sometimes by psychologists, but those who undergo sex change are never arrested.
