A Riyadh office of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai'a) has banned mothers from playing with their children at an amusements center in north Riyadh. Al-Jazira Arabic daily reported Thursday that the Umm Al-Hamam branch of the Hai'a has erected signs at the games area saying “Women Not Allowed to Play”, despite, according to the newspaper, the sufficient presence of security staff, site supervisors and security cameras. The newspaper said that a Hai'a official declined to speak on the measures, introduced ostensibly to prevent any contact between adult males and females, saying that the official spokesman was responsible for comments. When Al-Jazira called spokesman Turki Al-Shulail several times he failed to respond and also declined to reply to six text messages.
