RIYADH, 8 February 2007 — In what is seen as a setback for group family entertainment in the Kingdom, the organizers of Saudi Arabia’s annual national heritage festival, Al-Janadriya, announced that like previous years families will not be allowed to attend the event this year.
The announcement was made on Tuesday by Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Sabeit, head of the organizing committee of the Jandiriya festival. Al-Sabeit said the reason for the ban was “an old agreement with the Kingdom’s morality police (The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice) and the National Guard years ago.”
The official refused to discuss the matter further but commented that the organizing committee would try to resolve the issue next year.
He, however, added that some days would be assigned for only men to attend and other days would be assigned only for women. At a press conference, Ibrahim Abu Oba, head of the Guidance Center in Al-Janadriya, said he did not believe there was any “moral violation” taking place if families attended the event together. “I do not find any religious violation if families were to attend. It is actually less stressful for the organizers of the event... However, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has its say in the matter,” he said.
The annual event, which is the largest of its kind in Saudi Arabia, is held annually in Riyadh and portrays the different cultures, heritage, and lifestyles of people from all of the regions in the Kingdom.
Ahmed Al-Jardan, public relations manager at the commission, was unavailable for comment.
Under strict gender segregation rules, the virtue commission bans mixed family gatherings at all recreation centers and amusement parks in the capital with an exception to shopping malls. It also bans women from attending major inauguration events in Riyadh that do not have separate female sections.
Many Saudis feel that the ban is futile considering the Kingdom is aiming to open up to the world. They also believe that the ban would project a negative image of the Kingdom, which is striving hard to become a major tourist destination.
Dr. Hatoon Al-Fasi, a Saudi historian and writer, said the Al-Janadriya organizing committee needed to take a bold step and set their agendas straight. “The areas of Al-Janadriya are open and not closed. Their inner cities that represent each region are similar to a family going to the mall,” she said.
Al-Fasi added that in previous years when women did attend the festival, there was much contradiction as the festivities that were allowed for men were different from those allowed for women. “Activities that concerned women were supervised by the commission ... while there were bands that danced to drums for men, the commission wouldn’t allow that for women,” she said.
Dr. Bothayna Murshid, a Saudi physician, said the continuing segregation is having social consequences. “What happens is that the mother is then responsible for the entertainment of the children and the men end up not wanting to take any part,” she said.
Murshid added that she was in favor of families attending the festival. “Not for the sake of the event being mixed, but for the sake of a family being able to attend the event together as a family activity.”
Murshid said that Al-Janadriya was a public venue and not a private one, and that even during the women-only times, police officers and members of the commission will be “mingling with women” for safety and security reasons.
“Women who attend the Jandiriya (on women-only days) already see men practicing folklore activities in different areas. So justifying the ban saying that the event is mixed-gender is futile.”
