Women Banned From Entering Saudi Arabia Starbucks Location

A "gender wall" intended to separate customers collapsed.

Women have been barred from entering a Starbucks in the Saudi Arabia capital of Riyadh. According to Emirates 24/7, the mandate was passed down from the nation's religious police after a routine inspection revealed that the coffee shop's "gender wall" — a wooden barrier intended to keep men and women separate — had collapsed.

According to Arabic-language newspaper Al Weaam, a sign was posted on the coffee shop's door that read, "On order by the Commission… please no women allowed in… women can send in their drivers to buy for them.” Saudi women are outlawed from driving, which has led to booming business for driver-on-demand services like Uber.

The gender partitions are present in all Saudi dining establishments, from full-service restaurants to fast food chains located in mall food courts. (When culinary explorer Anthony Bourdain visited the nation in 2008 for his Travel Channel series No Reservations, his female guide presented the idea that the partitions were intended to shield families from single men, rather than to isolate women.) Meanwhile, some restaurants in Saudi Arabia have attempted to ban women altogether to prevent intermingling between the sexes.

Starbucks currently operates nearly 100 locations in Saudi Arabia.

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