Golf in the Gulf: Saudi women's tournament provokes protest

When it comes to women’s sports in Saudi Arabia, there have been a lot of recent firsts. 

Last year, the conservative kingdom held a women’s wrestling match for the very first time. That was followed in February by the launch of a Saudi women’s football league. Just last week, the country hosted its first women’s cricket match. 

The breakthroughs will continue next week with the inaugural Saudi Ladies International golf tournament.

The Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, 120km north of Jeddah, will welcome the biggest stars in women’s golf from 19-22 March. A prize fund of $1m will be up for grabs. 

In a country where women were only recently allowed to merely spectate at football matches, efforts to encourage participation in sports have been welcomed. 

British professional golfer Carly Booth said: “I have visited Saudi Arabia on a number of occasions and been lucky enough to spend some time teaching local women and girls how to play. 

“They have been so enthusiastic and I am sure that seeing professional golfers compete in their country will inspire them to take up the game and strive for their dreams.”

Double standards

Despite the positive steps, some have accused Saudi Arabia of double standards. 

In Brussels, Amnesty International activists used next week's tournament as an opportunity to raise awareness about women’s rights and highlight the human rights activists who have been jailed in the kingdom. 

To do so, they dressed up in golf attire and delivered 500 golf balls to the Saudi embassy, with the name of women who have been locked up written on them. 

Among the names featured were Loujain al-Hathloul, who campaigned against the ban on women driving before being detained in May 2018, and human rights activists Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sada, who have both been held since July 2018. 

“While the Saudi authorities are trying to give themselves a reformist image by organising international sporting events in particular, they continue to persecute human rights and women's rights defenders,” said Philippe Hensmans, director of the Belgian French-speaking section of Amnesty International.

Next week’s golf tournament is the latest of a host of sports and entertainment events being held in Saudi Arabia as part of its Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to make the economy less reliant on oil. 

This is not the first golf tournament in the country - the men’s Saudi International was held in the King Abdullah Economic City for the second time in February. 

Rory McIlroy, currently the world's number-one ranked golfer and four-time major champion, rejected a reported $2.5m fee to compete at the tournament, saying that it did not “excite him” and that “100 percent there’s a morality to it as well”. 

Not all sports stars have followed McIlroy’s lead. Football icon Lionel Messi was among a host of footballers to compete in the Spanish Super Cup tournament in Saudi Arabia, despite protests in Madrid. 

Meanwhile, boxer Anthony Joshua not only competed in a heavyweight boxing clash in the country, but also posted a picture of himself with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the fight.