Saudi Arabia to open beach resort where women can wear bikinis

Saudi Arabia's Prince Mohammad bin Salman has unveiled plans for a luxury Red Sea resort where special laws will allow women to wear bikinis instead of covering up their skin.

Foreign visitors are unlikely to come to beaches where women are forced to cover up in an abaya, and the government said the resort will be 'governed by laws on par with international standards,' reports The Telegraph.



Saudi Arabia’s own laws on women are among the most repressive in the world.

Women are banned from driving and unable to travel without permission from a male relative. They are further expected to cover their skin and hair when they are outside, although the laws are not uniformly enforced. Last month, a young woman was arrested for wearing a miniskirt in an abandoned village.

Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund described the project as a luxury resort destination established across 50 untouched natural islands.



Construction of the resort is set to begin in 2019 and the first phase of the project will be completed by 2022, according to the announcement. It aspires to host a million visitors a year by 2035.

This article originally appeared on Telegraph.