Sunday, December 05, 2004
Saudi women welcome in aviation but under Islamic law
RIYADH: Saudi women can be trained to replace foreign female crew members working for the kingdom's national airline, provided Islamic law is respected, Saudi Arabia's defence minister was quoted as saying on Saturday. "It is vital to replace foreign women with Saudis", the local Al-Jazirah daily quoted Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz as telling the inauguration of Saudi Arabia's first aviation academy. Any female enrolment, however, should abide by Islamic Sharia law, whose interpretation in the ultra-conservative desert kingdom enforces segregation between the sexes. "We hope to see Saudi woman, accompanied by her brother or husband, among the recruits in the (aviation) academy, in an environment controlled by the rules of Islamic Sharia," the London-based Al-Hayat daily quoted him saying.
afp
Daily Times - All Rights Reserved