Saudi Gazette Women can have all the fun now as they have an exclusive 154-seat movie theater all to themselves. The first ever movie theater ‘Aspire Ladies Cinema' for women, in the Middle East, was opened in Doha in June, early this year. It was much appreciated by women from Qatar and other neighboring countries. A large number of Saudi women in particular flocked to the movie theater. The Qatari Ministry of Interior told Al-Watan daily that 17,000 Saudi tourists traveled to Qatar in November. Saudi ladies are extremely delighted as they can experience and enjoy an exciting movie with friends, popcorn, and a drink in the privacy and comfort of the female theater. It is not only the movie theater which is dedicated to women, in fact the entire complex is for them, and it has lots of coffee shops and restaurants. For all weight conscious ladies there is a fitness center, a spa and a small corner that serves diet food, hence there is no doubt that it has recently become the hot spot for a ladies get-together. A young Saudi girl Reem Al-Omari, 23, said that her friends persuaded and encouraged her to visit the theater in Qatar. She was thrilled by all the choices of movies she could watch, both in English and Arabic, in a safe and respectable environment. “The atmosphere in the ladies theater is different from the general public theaters. I do not feel relaxed, comfortable, and self-confident in the general theaters as I do here. This has become our favorite entertainment spot,” Al-Omari told Al-Watan. Ibtihal Al-Yousef, who frequently visits the cinema with her daughters, would like to see such an entertainment spot in the Kingdom. “This is an entertaining and enjoyable place where mothers and daughters can bond. Teenage girls can get together with their friends to watch a movie without mingling with the opposite sex. The recreational options for families in the Kingdom are limited to malls, restaurants or cafés, so a ladies cinema would be a wonderful respite,” said Al
