Eleven things women in Saudi Arabia cannot do
Ban on women entering a Starbucks store in Riyadh is latest in long line of restrictions
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Subscribe to The Week magazine - Try your first 6 issues FREE
Men and women are segregated in the majority of public spaces in Saudi Arabia, with the Muslim kingdom's religious police ensuring the rules are enforced.
"Unlawful mixing between sexes leads to the arrest of the violators and criminal charges," political scientist Elham Manea writes for Deutche Welle.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Saudi Arabia's human rights record, especially with regards to protecting women, has often been called into question.
Most recently - women in Saudi Arabia claim to have been temporarily banned from entering a branch of Starbucks in the capital Riyadh.
A sign was placed in the window of the coffee shop saying: "Please no entry for ladies only send your driver to order thank you", after a wall designed to segregate men and women was reportedly removed during renovations.
A customer who tweeted a picture of the sign, which was written in English and Arabic, said the store "refused to serve me just because I'm a woman and asked me to send a man instead".
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Although women's rights have been incrementally extended in recent years – they were allowed to vote in municipal elections for the first time last year - their actions are still severely restricted.
Women have been elected to municipal councils in Saudi Arabia for the first time, in ballots held on Saturday. At least 18 women from very different parts of the country have been elected, according to Al Jazeera.
The elections were the first time women were allowed to stand for office or vote, after a ban was lifted by King Abdullah shortly before his death last year.
Officials said that about 130,000 women had registered to vote in what was only the third time Saudis of either gender have gone to the polls in the country's history.
In a country where a woman cannot even open a bank account without her husband's permission, click to page 2 to discover other things women in the Muslim kingdom are still unable to do.
- The 10 safest countries in the world – and the 10 most dangerous
- House prices: what are the predictions for 2016?
- 7 Things Donald trump believes
-
Film reviews: ‘Send Help’ and ‘Private Life’Feature An office doormat is stranded alone with her awful boss and a frazzled therapist turns amateur murder investigator
-
Movies to watch in Februarythe week recommends Time travelers, multiverse hoppers and an Iraqi parable highlight this month’s offerings during the depths of winter
-
ICE’s facial scanning is the tip of the surveillance icebergIN THE SPOTLIGHT Federal troops are increasingly turning to high-tech tracking tools that push the boundaries of personal privacy
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal