Saudi men protesting female poet's recital removed from book fair after audience side with woman

Two Saudi men, who protesed as a female poet spoke at a public book fare, were removed from the event after the crowd unanimously defended the woman.

In video footage of the incident a man can be seen standing up in protest of the Saudi poet, Ashjan Al Hendi, before she recited a poem at the Jeddah International Book Fair.

Confronting security guards, the man can be heard saying it was unacceptable for a woman to address the hall, after which he was escorted from the room by security guards.

As Ms Hendi began speaking a second man opposed the recital.

In response an officer asked the audience if they were “satisfied with what was happening".

The crowd unanimously agreed they were, causing the second men to be removed from the hall, Saudi news site Al Marsad reported on Sunday.

The decision to remove the men, was been praised by many on social media, who argued the men's attitudes should not be imposed on other people at the festival, according to Gulf News.

Ms Hindi, who has spoken at literary events across the globe, is a Saudi poet born in Jeddah. She has a doctorate in Arabic Literature from SOAS University in London and has published three collections of poetry.

She is currently an assistant professor in the Arabic Department of King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah.

The incident comes as five Saudi women won seats on the country's municipal council on Sunday in the first ever election in the country open to women voters and candidates.

It is believed 1.35 million men registered to vote, compared to 130,000 women. The lack of female voters was partly attributed to a lack of transport, as women are still not legally allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia.

Amnesty International UK’s Karen Middleton said the changes to voting in the country were “a long overdue move that is welcome but only a tiny fraction of what needs to be addressed over gender inequality in Saudi Arabia”.