Saudi Arabia's government has announced an end to gender-segregated entrances in restaurants.
Food establishments in Saudi Arabia were previously required to provide separate entrances – one for men entering the restaurants on their own and another for women with their families.
The country’s Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs has stated that this regulation will no longer be enforced, in a move that relaxes stringent restrictions that were formerly in place.
Despite the introduction of mixed entrances, a spokesperson for the ministry told Reuters that eateries are not obligated to follow the new rules.
Therefore, restaurant owners can still choose to implement gender-segregated entrances should they wish to.
The spokesperson was also unable to confirm whether restaurants in Saudi Arabia will cease gender-segregated eating areas.
When the gender-segregated rules were still in place, women were barred from entering restaurants that were too small to provide separate entrances.
The new relaxed regulations have been eased into food establishments across the country over the past year.
Ruba Al-Harbi, a restaurant manager in Saudi Arabia, told Arab News that she believes having separate entrances was a “waste of money” because “this segregation will do nothing when both sides meet outside the restaurant doors”.
Al-Harbi added that the family sections in restaurants are “usually crowded”, while the male sections are “always empty because they don’t go to restaurants as much as females”.
In September 2017, it was reported that Saudi Arabia had lifted its ban on women being allowed to drive.
The change became fully implemented the following year, by royal decree from King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Women in the country celebrated their new driving freedoms following the lifting of the ban, with one woman stating: “Everything is an adventure now.”
In August, it was announced that Saudi women were finally allowed to apply for passports and travel independently.
However, they still require the permission of a male guardian should they wish to get married, get divorced or start a business.
