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As Prince Accelerates Changes for Women, Saudis Adapt at Varied Pace

Ben Hubbard and

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Men and women sit separately during a picnic at a park in Riyadh. In public spaces, people tend to follow rules limiting interactions between unrelated women and men. But in private, Saudis largely do as they please.Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Saudi Arabia has long been known as one of the world’s most restrictive environments for women, where they could not travel alone, hold a wide range of jobs, show their hair in public or drive. That is beginning to change.

A series of recent decisions by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s young, de facto ruler, could revolutionize the lives of Saudi women. They will soon be allowed to attend soccer matches at public stadiums. They have been named to prominent positions. In June, they will be allowed to drive cars, even motorcycles, the government says. Women will probably even be able to join the traffic police.

But how much these dizzying decisions will affect individuals will depend on several factors, including where they live, their age, their own beliefs and the willingness of their male relatives to give up the control that many consider a religious prerogative.

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Saudi women at the opening of a women’s book fair in Saihat. Because the event was on private land, attendees had the freedom to take off their veils.Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times
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A parking lot outside a shopping mall in Riyadh. Women will be allowed to drive in June, but until then, they have to rely on a male relative, or a hired driver.Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times

While the kingdom’s strict gender rules are often seen as an extension of its deep connection to its ultraconservative interpretation of Islam, they are, in many ways, deeply entrenched cultural norms. And despite the speed with which the official decisions could potentially free up women’s lives, the culture could shift more slowly.

Most public spaces in Saudi Arabia are designed to keep men and women apart. Restaurants have separate entrances for “families,” meaning groups that include women and “single” — which really means “men.”

One mall in Riyadh, the capital, has an entire floor for women only, called “the Ladies Kingdom.” With few exceptions, schools and universities are segregated, and many men and women who do not consider themselves particularly religious still mostly socialize with their own gender.

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An event for families with live music in Khobar. Most public spaces in Saudi Arabia are designed to keep men and women apart.Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times
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Girls at a Saudi beach. “I will remember that I can’t swim here, but my brother can,” one 6-year-old said.

In conservative circles, men rarely mix with female relatives who are not their mothers, daughters or sisters. Some men live their entire lives without seeing the faces of their brothers’ wives.

But the rules are not as strict as they once were, and in many places, change has already begun. Saudi Arabia has a large youth population. About two-thirds of its 22 million citizens are under 30. Compared with members of older generations, young Saudis have grown up with unprecedented exposure to the rest of the world.

Hundreds of thousands of them have studied abroad, including in the United States. And social media and satellite television have made even those who remain at home familiar with other societies.

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Women who serve tea and coffee welcome a bride at a wedding in Riyadh by singing and ululating. Because of strict rules in conservative circles, men rarely mix with female relatives in their extended family. Some Saudi men never see the faces of their brothers’ wives.

Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times
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Bridesmaids enter a wedding hall. Guests in the women’s section cover up, some fully and some partly, before the groom arrives.Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times

Many of the young Saudis have even come up with their own rules. Some young women have turned the abaya, the baggy black gown meant to conceal a woman’s form, into a high-end fashion accessory.

Others have adopted more revealing forms of the hijab, the head scarf that many Muslim women wear, donning it in a way meant to attract, not deflect, male attention.

In public spaces, people tend to follow common rules about modest dress and interactions between unrelated women and men. But in private, Saudis can largely do as they please.

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Men grilling meat near a park in Diriyah as women look on from a short distance away. Many young people have carved out spaces where they mix and engage in activities that others in society would object to.Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times

Many young people have used that leeway to carve out spaces where they mix and engage in activities that others in society would object to. They hold concerts in basements for their friends or gather in mixed groups to play board games or to watch uncensored Hollywood movies. Others organize salsa dance classes where women dress in ways they never could on the street.

Changes in women’s status proceeded slowly under previous kings. In the 1960s, King Faisal faced a backlash from conservatives for introducing public education for girls. He appeased critics by telling them it was not mandatory; in a few years, even the most conservative Saudis were sending their daughters to school.

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A man being fitted at a men’s clothing store in Riyadh. Changes for women have accelerated under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times
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A group of friends gathered at a home in Qatif to spend a weekend together.Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times

Under the reign of King Abdullah, who died in 2015, women were first allowed to work as sales clerks and in supermarket checkout lines. He also added 30 women to the kingdom’s Shura Council, an appointed body that advises the monarchy. In recent decades, the government has built many women’s universities, and enrollment has soared.

But changes for women have accelerated under Prince Mohammed, 32, who has emerged as the country’s most powerful and dynamic leader since his elderly father became king in 2015.

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Women at the Zamzam Well in the Grand Mosque of Mecca. When the government said that beginning next year it would allow women to drive, activists said the move would have far-reaching implications.Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times
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Men selling flowers along a highway to the King Fahd International Airport. Many restrictions on women still remain. Conservative men may still be able to prevent their wives and daughters from driving.Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times

Young Saudis excited about the changes have described the crown prince as a “hero,” “brave” and a “young champion.”

Last year, he removed from the kingdom’s religious police the power to arrest and pursue subjects. They once had tremendous power to police public behavior, focusing on imposing modest dress on women and preventing the mixing of unrelated women and men.

The government has also begun allowing women into public stadiums for soccer games and appointing women to positions they had not held before.

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Men and women continue to have separate sections in many restaurants.Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times
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A salsa class at a home in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia has a large youth population, with about two-thirds of its 22 million citizens under the age of 30. They have grown up with more exposure to the rest of the world than their elders ever experienced.Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times

A princess, Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, accompanied four female Saudi athletes to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and now sits on the government’s sports commission, and the spokesperson for the Saudi Embassy in Washington is a woman, Fatimah Baeshen.

When the government said this year that it would lift the longstanding ban on women driving in June 2018, female activists said the move would have far-reaching implications.

It would make it easier for women to commute to work and take charge of their own movements, they said.

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Most schools and universities are segregated. In this private art studio, friends gathered to play and listen to music.Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times
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Domestic workers from the Philippines at a wedding held by one of the families that employ them.Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times

But many restrictions remain. Women’s driving schools have yet to open, and conservative men will likely still be able to prevent their wives and daughters from driving.

Women rights activists say the next frontier in their struggle is against so-called guardianship laws that require all women to have a male guardian, usually a father or husband, and sometimes even a son.

Saudi women still need permission from their male guardians to get a passport, leave the country and to pursue certain kinds of jobs or medical treatments.

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Yemeni men playing soccer near a highway in Riyadh. Women will soon be allowed to attend soccer matches at public stadiums.Credit...Tasneem Alsultan for The New York Times
A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 9 of the New York edition with the headline: Change for Saudi Women, but Not at Once. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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