[aishah]

http://www.autostraddle.com/saudi-ar...aiting-143776/

Hussa al-Aun, one of the businesswomen who proposed the series of cities to Modon, said it was "essential to cut unemployment among [the kingdom's] female graduates." Women working in the city will also be offered training and and opportunities to further develop their talents.
The implications of Hofuf have yet to be fully recognized, but from a historical standpoint, this could be the first step towards turning Saudi Arabia on its head, or on its elbows, or on its knees. In a region where women have historically been oppressed at a very extreme level, an entire city devoted to their potential and ambitions seems like it could be a major step forward for the women involved, although what it will mean for the future of Saudi Arabia as a nation remains impossible to predict. In the wake of the accepted proposal for the site, academics and journalists alike have harkened back to Jim Crow, arguments about same-sex education, and the failing logic of a segregated city. But that isn't wholly fair. After all, same-sex education in America might not be our ideal now, but Wellesley and the other sister schools exist because at one point, the Ivy League was a big treehouse with an obnoxious "no girls allowed" sign attached to the front. At one point it was impossible for American women to get an education comparable to that of presidents, business owners, and other breadwinners - so they simply made their own space to do it. Sometimes you have to stop waiting to achieve equality alongside your oppressor and you have to pack up and go.

i'm not sure i fully agree with everything in this article, but i like that it includes input from one of the women who proposed the idea, and that it adds some nuance to the segregation arguments being made elsewhere.

also, i've had a hard time finding info about what the setup of the city would actually be like, but my impression is that women would go there to work/study and wouldn't necessarily live there year-round. it's just setting up the workplace so it's all women without any problems with gender mixing in the workplace (which currently make it difficult for women to work).