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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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Women-Only Saudi Hotel Raises Debate on Progress

Critics worry about segregation

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(Newser) – Saudi businesswomen are embracing a hotel for women-only that frees them of the pressures from a society in which they can't drive and, until January, couldn't check into a hotel without permission from a male guardian. But others are concerned the Luthan Hotel & Spa simply reinforces the kingdom's gender segregation. The Christian Science Monitor profiles the hotel and the controversy.

A female executive at Luthan calls it part of a global trend that caters to women travelers looking for men-free sanctuaries. But not everyone buys it. "It's not good because maybe some people will try to make other hotels to keep ladies separate from the men," says a professor at King Saud University. "Always they will keep men and women separate."

Until January, women traveling solo couldn't check into hotels, including the pictured Intercon in Riyadh, without written permission from a male guardian.
Until January, women traveling solo couldn't check into hotels, including the pictured Intercon in Riyadh, without written permission from a male guardian.   (Magnum Photos)
Saudi women visit the Saudi Travel and Tourism Investment Market in this file photo. Businesswomen say traveling in the male-dominated society can be a hassle.
Saudi women visit the Saudi Travel and Tourism Investment Market in this file photo. Businesswomen say traveling in the male-dominated society can be a hassle.   (Getty Images)
Saudi women attend the Jeddah Economic Forum in the Red Sea port in this file photo. An emerging class of businesswomen has prompted the nation's first female-only hotel.
Saudi women attend the Jeddah Economic Forum in the Red Sea port in this file photo. An emerging class of businesswomen has prompted the nation's first female-only hotel.   (Getty Images)
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radnip
Mar 10, 09 3:11 AM CDT
Always women are punished by men's inability to control themselves and actually use their supposedly-greatest-thinkers-in-the-world brains. Reply
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