Saudi restaurants' decision to ban women met with adoration, criticism

Dubai: A move by restaurants in Saudi Arabia to ban women from entering their premises has elicited both criticism and praise on social networks, a report said.

As several restaurants erected "Women are not allowed" signs in front of their entrance, the National Society for Human Rights Secretary General Khalid Al Fakhri called for their immediate removal. He said that the restaurant owners have acted on their own discretion and have therefore, broken the law, reported Gulfnews.com.

The report quoted a restaurant owner as saying that the move is aimed at avoiding possible problems following a series of harassment cases.

Several Saudis on social networks struck the same tune by saying that the presence of women in restaurants "caused several social issues."

However, at the same time, there were people who blasted the decision on social media by saying that it amounted to blatant discrimination against women.

One of the social media users also compared the anti-woman signs erected outside restaurants to the anti-Black signs used in the United States during apartheid.