Saudis make sexual harassment illegal

Saudi Arabia passed a new law to criminalise sexual harassment, state media said yesterday, less than a month before the conservative kingdom lifts its decades-long ban on women driving.

The Shura Council, which advises the cabinet, passed a draft law that would jail the guilty for up to five years and impose a maximum fine of £60,000. Latifa al-shaalan, a council member, said: “It fills a large legislative vacuum and it is a deterrent.”