After decades of dining alone in restaurants in segregate seating areas, men and women of The Kingdom will finally be permitted to sit in the same areas at both cafés and restaurants.
The landmark decision, unveiled by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs on Sunday, no longer requires restaurants to have separate entrances for men and women.
Before the announcement, both genders weren’t allowed to mix in public, with all dining establishments required to provide two sections, one for single men and another for single women and families. For smaller cafés who lacked space for partitions, women were simply not allowed to be served. In the last year, however, the requirement has been eased, with many restaurants in the kingdom doing away with gender segregation.
This new reform comes as part of Saudi’s Vision 2030 spearheaded by the 34-year old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,and is just one of the latest in a series of changes taking place in the notoriously conservative country; from the lifting of its ban on women driving to the allowance of solo female travel and the introduction of tourist visas.
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