SAUDI ARABIA LAUNCHES CRACKDOWN ON ‘IMMORAL ACTS’ AMID SOCIAL REFORMS

Mon 17 March 2025:

Saudi Arabia has arrested more than 50 people, including 11 women on prostitution charges, in a new crackdown on “immoral acts” amid ongoing social and economic transformations under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

According to a report by the FT, the Ministry of Interior’s newly established unit, tasked with tackling “community security and human trafficking,” has also detained dozens of foreigners for alleged offences in massage parlours and for forcing women and children into begging. This marks the first time in over a decade that authorities have publicly acknowledged the existence of prostitution in the kingdom.

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Last month, Saudi police arrested four expatriates involved in “immoral acts” at a massage facility in Riyadh, while three foreign women accused of prostitution were arrested following a police raid at a hotel in the capital. Separately, five expatriates were arrested for practicing acts that violate public morals in a relaxation and body care centre in Jeddah.

The move has sparked comparisons to the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the religious police force once notorious for enforcing gender segregation and moral codes. The mutawaa, as they were known, were stripped of their powers in 2016 as part of the crown prince’s broader efforts to modernise the country, open up its economy, and relax strict social controls.

Analysts are uncertain about what triggered the recent crackdown, but Khalid Al-Sulaiman, a columnist for the semi-official Okaz newspaper, attributed it to “notable increased activity” in morality-related violations, including advertisements for sex services on social media. “Our country has a special religious and social identity as the birthplace of Islam… those who practice [such acts] today should never feel that they can appear in public without consequences,” he wrote.

With Saudi Arabia preparing to host the 2034 World Cup and attract foreign investment, authorities are balancing social liberalisation with preserving the kingdom’s conservative identity.

-MEMO

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