Saudi women can be trained to replace foreign female crew members working for the kingdom's national airline, provided Islamic law is respected, Saudi Arabia's defense minister was quoted as saying Saturday. "It is vital to replace foreign women with Saudis", the local Al-Jazirah daily quoted Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz as telling the inauguration of Saudi Arabia's first aviation academy.
Any female enrolment, however, should abide by Islamic Sharia law, whose interpretation in the ultra-conservative desert kingdom enforces segregation between the sexes.
"We hope to see Saudi woman, accompanied by her brother or husband, among the recruits in the (aviation) academy, in an environment controlled by the rules of Islamic Sharia," the London-based Al-Hayat daily quoted him saying.
Women in Saudi Arabia, who have to cover from head to toe in public and cannot mix with men other than relatives, are subject to numerous restrictions, including not being able to travel alone.
Although the government started issuing separate identity cards in 2001, women cannot obtain such documents without the approval of a male guardian. Nor do they have the right to vote or run for public office.
Last month, Kingdom Holding Company announced that Saudi Arabia's first woman pilot would take to the skies next year in the private fleet of billionaire Saudi Prince Al-Walid bin Talal.
Al-Hayat said Saudi Arabia opened its first aviation school, in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, "after many accusations (of terrorism) were directed at Saudi pilots training in the United States and other countries."