Saudi Arabia Launched A Girls Council Without Any Girls

There was something rather peculiarly absent during the launch of Saudi Arabia's new Qassim Girls Council--actual girls. All of the images of the first meeting of the council pictured only men on stage, with nary a woman to be found.

Satire? Comedy? No. This is actually happening: The very first meeting of the first "Girls Council" in Saudi Arabia... with ZERO girls. pic.twitter.com/MPmHsr9FCO

— Sarah Abdallah (@sahouraxo) March 13, 2017

Even chair of the council, Princess Abir bint Salman, was not in the photo. (Her husband was, however.) Apparently, the girls were in a separate room and were "present" via a video stream. The Qassim Girls Council is the "first of its kind" for Saudi Arabia.

In Saudi Arabia, women are not permitted to drive. They are subject to a national dress code and cannot wear clothes or makeup that "show off their beauty."

And apparently, they can't even be featured in a council about their own gender.

Pathetic.