Tag: riyals

  • In Saudi Arabia, women riders debut in camel beauty contest

    In Saudi Arabia, women riders debut in camel beauty contest

    For the first time in the kingdom, Saudi women paraded camels in a beauty pageant for the “desert ship”.

    “I hope today to reach a certain social standing, InshaAllah (God willing),” said Lamia al-Rashidi, 27, who participated at the weekend contest in the Rumah desert northeast of the capital Riyadh.

    Part of the famous King Abdul Aziz Festival, this event was previously a men-only event.

    “I’ve been interested in camels ever since I was little,” said Rashidi, whose family owns 40 camels.

    “Once this event was opened to women, I decided to participate,” said the young woman, wearing a black face covering and with a colourful shawl over her shoulders.

    The top five in the field of about 40 participants in the women’s event returned home with a total prize pool of one million riyals (about $ 260,000).

    The beauty of a camel is judged by several criteria, but the shape and size of the lips, neck and hump are the main attributes.

    Since Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman came to power in 2017, Gulf countries have lifted some restrictions on women as the country is opened up with radical reforms.

    This shift allows women to grab the steering wheel and participate in a mixed gender environment.

    “Women have always been an integral part of Bedouin society. They owned and looked after camels,” said Mohammed al-Harbi, a manager of the festival.

    Women´s participation was in keeping with “the historical heritage” of Saudi Arabia, he told AFP.

    Munira al-Mishkhas, another participant, chimed in: “Camels have been a part of us for a long time, but staging a contest for us (women) is a big step forward.”

    At just seven years old, Maras Binto Enad was the youngest contestant and her animal finished third. Her proud father, a 35-year-old camel dealer who said he had more than 200 beasts, was very pleased with the admission of the female.

    “This will increase enthusiasm for the festival and increase the value of the camels,” said Enad bin Sultan, clad in traditional costume and red-and-white keffiyeh headdress.

    The 40-day festival, which kicked off last month, is an annual Bedouin event that lures breeders from across the Gulf with total prize money of up to $66 million.

  • Saudi court fines woman 50,000 riyals for advising friend to leave husband

    Saudi court fines woman 50,000 riyals for advising friend to leave husband

     A woman in Saudi Arabia has been fined 50,000 Saudi Riyals for miscounseling her friend and advising her to leave her husband and find a better one.

    According to details, the husband will get the money while the woman has promised that she will not advise any married woman, regardless of her intentions, according to court records. Lawyers have described the court ruling as a unique judicial precedent.

    The defendant’s friend’s husband filed a case against the woman for trying to destroy his marriage and wanted compensation for the stress he suffered because of this.

    He stated in his complaint that the defendant badly counselled his wife and urged her not to listen to him, saying: “My wife’s friend incited my disobedience, by giving her advice that harmed our marital relationship.”

    “She used to tell my wife ‘You should find someone better for yourself. Show him who’s the boss. Don’t let them push you around’,” he added.

    On the other hand, the defendant said she wanted nothing but the best for her friend.

    The court advised the partners to determine what advice they should take seriously and what to ignore, because “friends may ruin a relationship by giving bad advice out of jealousy”.