Woman dies after medics stopped from entering female university in Saudi Arabia

The family of a female Saudi student who died
from heart failure said authorities at her
university prevented medics from getting to her in
time because of rules barring men from entering
the women-only part of the campus, Saudi media
has reported. Al-Arabiya television's news website quoted Fahda
Bawazir, the sister of Amena Bawazir, as saying
that the ambulance arrived at a campus gate
shortly after her sister became ill at around 11am. "But the medics were not allowed to enter the
campus until 1pm", she said, and instead
university authorities prevented them from
entering, making them wait outside until a gate
was secured in a way "that did not allow the (male)
medics and females in the building to mix." The King Saud University in Riyadh, where the
girl was studying for a Master's degree, has
strenuously denied the accusation and said Ms
Bawazir, who had a history of heart disease,
received rapid medical attention after suffering a
stroke last Sunday, causing her heart and lungs to stop functioning. A university spokesman said campus medics
attended the girl and when they failed to revive
her they called in medics from a local hospital,
according to the sabq.org news website. It quoted the spokesman, Ahmed al-Tamimi, as
saying those medics arrived at the scene at 12.45
pm, ten minutes later and transported Amena to
the university hospital where she was pronounced
dead at 13.39 pm. "As the university issues this correction, it asserts
its responsibility towards all male and female
students and its serious efforts to preserve their
lives and safety," Tamimi said. Saudi Arabia adheres to the strict Wahhabi
interpretation of Islam, which forbids mixing
between men and women and requires sexes to be
segregated at all Saudi universities. Women's
movements are restricted, often requiring the
permission of a male guardian. Women also have separate seating areas and even
separate entrances in "family" sections of
restaurants and cafes where single males are not
allowed to enter. It was not until September last year that Saudi Arabia's cabinet passed the passed a ban on
domestic violence and abuse against women for the first time in the Kingdom history. The incident echoes the 2002 tragedy that saw 15
girls die inside a school in the holy city of Mecca
when police prevented them from leaving the
burning building because they were not wearing
appropriate Islamic dress.