Saudi women have showcased their prized “ships of the desert” in a beauty competition, a first for the conservative nation.
“Inshallah (God willing), I aim to acquire a particular social standing today,” Lamia al-Rashidi, 27, said of the weekend event in the Rumah desert northeast of Riyadh.
Previously, the event, which was part of the esteemed King Abdelaziz Festival, was exclusively open to men.
Several contestants were disqualified in December after their animals received botox injections.
Women in black on horseback rode ahead of men in white robes on camels in a procession on the red sand road of Rumah, while male musicians, some wielding swords, danced to the rhythm of drums.
The oil-rich Gulf state follows a conservative interpretation of Islam, but since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ascension to power in 2017, several restrictions on women have been loosened as the government undergoes major reforms.
