Saudi Arabia set to license women's sports clubs

Saudi Arabia is to license women's sports clubs for the first time, in a major step in a country where religious authorities have warned against female exercise.

Last year the conservative Islamic kingdom, where women must have permission from a male relative to take many big decisions, sent women athletes to the Olympics for the

first time after pressure from international rights groups.

Until now, women's exercise facilities, including gyms, have had to be licensed by the Health Ministry and designated as 'health centres'.

Last April, the Government had set up a ministerial committee to allow women's sports clubs. The General Presidency of Youth Welfare, which functions like a sports ministry, only regulates men's clubs.

In 2009 a member of the country's highest council of clerics said girls should not play sport while State-run girls' schools do not have exercise classes.

However, the Watan website recently reported that the Interior Ministry had decided to allow women's sports clubs after reviewing a study that showed flaws in the existing system.

Two Saudi women, a judoka and a sprinter, became the first to compete for their country in the London Olympics in August last year.