RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is preparing to outlaw sexual harassment, officials said Tuesday, less than a month before the conservative kingdom lifts its decades-long ban on women driving. The kingdom’s Shura Council, which advises the cabinet, approved a draft law on Monday which would introduce a prison term of up to five years and a penalty of 300,000 riyals ($80,000). The draft bill “is a very important addition to the history of regulations in the kingdom“, Shura Council member Latifa al-Shaalan was quoted as saying in an information ministry statement. “It fills a large legislative vacuum, and it is a deterrent,” she added. The prince has also lifted a decades-long ban on cinemas, allowed mixed-gender concerts and clipped the powers of the long-feared religious police.

Source: New Strait Times May 29, 2018 23:05 UTC