Saudi Arabia’s minister for fun sacked over pink leotard

Ahmad Al-Khatib axed amid outrage over
female circus performer’s ‘indecent’ outfit

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Pictures and video clips of the woman in her “pink
figure-hugging costume” during performances in the Saudi capital
prompted “sharp criticism” after being posted on social media,
reports Dubai-based newspaper Gulf News.

“Ahmad al-Khatib, chairman of the Saudi GEA [General
Entertainment Authority] has been removed from his position,” the
Saudi Press Agency announced on Monday,
citing a royal decree. Pro-government news website Sabq later
clarified the decision, saying that Khatib was dismissed over the
women in the footage wearing “indecent clothes”.

The GEA was launched in 2016 in order to “organise,
develop, and lead the entertainment sector to provide exciting
entertainment options, and tailor experiences to the needs of
people from all walks of life across Saudi Arabia”, according to
Saudi newspaper Arab News.

The authority, nicknamed the Ministry of Fun by Western outlets,
is part of a “far-reaching liberalisation drive that has ended
decades-long bans on women driving and attending mixed concerts”
among other things, adds New Delhi-based news site NDTV.

According to the FT, the man “driving all this” is Mohammed
bin Salman, known as MBS, the deputy crown prince and favourite son
of the king. Under his guideance, the GEA has been
“introducing Saudis to the hitherto forbidden pleasure of live
concerts”, said an article last year by the newspaper’s Roula
Khalaf, who quoted local sources saying that the Saudi government
was “considering opening cinemas” and that there was “talk of” a
Cirque du Soleil-style show.

Both of those predictions came to fruition, but
the circus show has now led to Al-Khatib’s downfall.

Ali Shihabi, director of the Washington DC-based Arabia
Foundation, a pro-Saudi think tank, tweeted a video of the circus
performers that included cutaway shots of monologues from
several men who denounced the costumes and emphasised the need to
uphold Islamic principles.

“Cynics who lightly dismiss the colossal challenges that MBS
faces in his social reforms should view this video of young Saudi
men passionately denouncing the presence of a Russian circus with
women performers in their country,” Shihabi wrote.