fA lot has changed for women in Saudi Arabia. They have become more visible, now working side by side with their male colleagues in government, in the catering trade, at passport control at airports, occasionally also in the management echelons of large companies or, like Sarah Alturk, as entrepreneurs. Alturk has opened a gym. One that has never existed before in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, where women don’t sweat on the usual exercise machines, but get in shape by dancing. Courses in Zumba, pole dance and acrobatics are offered on several floors. Or “Burlesque Fitness” in the “Moulin Rouge” themed room.
Sarah Alturk has been fascinated by the speed of change in her homeland since Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman began using the crowbar to open up Saudi society. “The changes in Saudi Arabia and the rapid development are kind of scary – but in a wonderful way,” she says. “I didn’t expect it to go so far so quickly. It’s incredible.” Her gym in Jeddah is just one of many examples. Some things were still unthinkable a few years ago: the cafés where young women and men can meet to feel safe from conservative people or the religious police. The nightclubs that open and where singers perform. Where men and women mix in the audience and where now only the beer is missing, as one operator of a bar says. A party scene is flourishing in the country, which is not legal but is tolerated. People gather for “raves” at vacation homes and villas. You will receive a text message with admission times, bank details – and later a venue. The scenes on international flights, when women take off the black cloth that hides colorful designer fashion as the plane takes off, become curious anecdotes of the past.
