In a country where women have yet to drive, a number of women in Saudi Arabia are challenging social norms by taking to heavy sports such as weightlifting.

The conservative Muslim kingdom has allowed female-only-gyms to open earlier this year, amid a wider wave of social and cultural change.

Some of those gyms quickly filled up with customers such as Reham al-Shaaban, who regularly goes to the gym in the eastern city of Dammam.

Weightlifting helps women stay in shape and get fit, Shaaban said.

She is aware that assumptions about women engaging in intense workouts still exist but adds that she does not see any problem with it.

Some of the gym goers are women who have certification in gym training, which they obtained while living abroad.

Among those is Rana al-Shamasi, who returned from the United States in 2013 to find her society, even her own family, opposed to the idea.

"When I first came back from the United States in 2013, I was shocked to see people rejecting that women practice weightlifting or drink proteins shakes. They had assumed that if they drink protein shakes then their body would become like men. Even my own family was thinking the same way."

In February, Saudi Arabian newspaper Okaz quoted Princess Reema bint Bandar, the vice president for women's affairs at the General Authority of Sports, announcing that licenses would be granted to open gyms for women.

The target is to have a gym in every district and neighbourhood, Okaz newspaper reported.

However, Saudi Arabia sports authorities ordered the shutdown of a women’s fitness center in Riyadh on Friday, over a promotional workout video deemed contentious for showing a woman in a tight-fitting sportswear, while kicking a punching bag.

The President of the General Sports Authority, Turki al-Sheikh, who ordered the suspension of the center’s license and the opening of an investigation, said the video contained scenes that could corrupt public morals, adding in a Twitter post that Saudi authorities “will not tolerate this.”

The conservative Muslim kingdom has allowed female-only-gyms to open earlier this year, amid a wider wave of social and cultural change

In a country where women have yet to drive, a number of women in Saudi Arabia are challenging social norms by taking to heavy sports such as weightlifting. The conservative Muslim kingdom has allowed female-only-gyms to open earlier this year, amid a wider wave of social and cultural change. Some of those gyms quickly filled up with customers such as Reham al-Shaaban, who regularly goes to the gym in the eastern city of Dammam. Weightlifting helps women stay in shape and get fit, Shaaban said. She is aware that assumptions about women engaging in intense workouts still exist but adds that she does not see any problem with it. Some of the gym goers are women who have certification in gym training, which they obtained while living abroad. Among those is Rana al-Shamasi, who returned from the United States in 2013 to find her society, even her own family, opposed to the idea. "When I first came back from the United States in 2013, I was shocked to see people rejecting that women practice weightlifting or drink proteins shakes. They had assumed that if they drink protein shakes then their body would become like men. Even my own family was thinking the same way." In February, Saudi Arabian newspaper Okaz quoted Princess Reema bint Bandar, the vice president for women's affairs at the General Authority of Sports, announcing that licenses would be granted to open gyms for women. The target is to have a gym in every district and neighbourhood, Okaz newspaper reported. However, Saudi Arabia sports authorities ordered the shutdown of a women’s fitness center in Riyadh on Friday, over a promotional workout video deemed contentious for showing a woman in a tight-fitting sportswear, while kicking a punching bag. The President of the General Sports Authority, Turki al-Sheikh, who ordered the suspension of the center’s license and the opening of an investigation, said the video contained scenes that could corrupt public morals, adding in a Twitter post that Saudi authorities “will not tolerate this.”

Watch: Saudi women take to weightlifting for shape and beauty

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