The Women’s Tennis Association has made a deal to hold its Finals for the next three years at a venue in Saudi Arabia. I’m not shocked that the WTA chased the money, but I’m disappointed that any group of women would agree to do business with a country that doesn’t recognize them as worthy of full status as human beings.
Saudi Arabia also criminalizes homosexuality, limits freedom of speech, and is run by a man who ordered his underlings to brutally murder a journalist. And let’s not forget that most of the 9/11 hijackers were raised in Saudi schools where they were taught to hate not just Americans, but all non-Muslims.
According to Amnesty International, Saudi law doesn’t protect women from domestic violence or marital rape, which is not illegal there. Women are expected to obey their husbands and submit to them, and must have the consent of a male legal guardian to get married and for the marriage contract to be validated. And women can’t initiate a divorce, regardless of physical and mental abuse at the hands of their husbands.
The WTA says it hopes its presence in the country will help change things for Saudi citizens, but that’s a lie — the same one told by the golfers and soccer leagues who cashed big Saudi checks in recent years. The agenda is not to impact Saudi cultural policy. It’s only about the money.
Shame on the WTA and any women who agree to play in any event in Saudi Arabia.