On Saturday, Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry announced a series of offences under ‘public indecency', which includes acts like wearing tight clothing or kissing in public.
These were posted on the country’s website for tourists, with advisories including “men and women are asked to dress modestly in public, avoiding tight-fitting clothing or clothes with profane language or images”, “women should cover shoulders and knees in public” and “public displays of affection are not consistent with local culture and visitors should also avoid using profane language or gestures”.
Other violations include littering, spitting, queue jumping, taking photographs of people without their permissions and playing music during prayer time, with fines ranging from $13 to $1,600 according to Reuters.
While the penalties for the same were not announced, they were stated a day after the kingdom started issuing tourist visas to tourists for the first time. According to a government statement, “The new regulations require men and women to dress modestly and to refrain from public displays of affection. Women are free to choose modest clothing,” adding that “the regulations are meant to ensure that visitors and tourists in the kingdom are aware of the law relating to public behaviour so that they comply with it.”
In February, the Council of Senior Scholars said that Saudi women would no longer need to wear abayas. When tourists were allowed into the kingdom, it was announced that they would not be required to wear abayas.
Earlier, the kingdom used to have moral police called Mutawas who would patrol and enforce moral codes. However, after the announcement of Saudi Vision 2030, they were highly curtailed.
Under the new rules, the kingdom launched a visa-regime for 49 countries . Earlier, visitors were primarily pilgrims undergoing the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
