Pedersen beat England’s Georgia Hall and bought a verify for $ 150,000 from the Aramco Saudi Ladies International, in King Abdullah Economic City, close to Jeddah on the Red Sea.
The 24-year-old Dane stated she was “very happy to be the first winner of this event”. “It is a fantastic experience to be here in Saudi Arabia,” she stated in a press release.
Amnesty International and different human rights teams accuse organizers and members of complacently obscuring the crackdown on dissenting voices in the nation, together with a number of imprisoned feminist activists.
Symbol of the repression in opposition to feminists, Loujain Al-Hathloul, on starvation strike for practically a month, was arrested with different activists in May 2018, shortly earlier than the lifting of the ban on driving made to Saudi ladies . She has lengthy campaigned for this proper and the tip of the system which locations ladies underneath male supervision.
The United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination in opposition to Women known as for the activist’s “immediate release” in early November, contemplating that the deterioration in her state of well being was “deeply alarming”, in line with these specialists.
Alexandra Armas, CEO of the Ladies European Tour, stated seizing the chance to carry women’s golf to Saudi Arabia was an “easy decision”. “We discussed with our members what they thought of coming to play in Saudi Arabia, and it was very well accepted,” she stated.
Maha Haddioui, Moroccan and first Arab skilled of the Ladies European Tour, stated she was delighted to take part in the occasion and to assist write “a new page in Saudi history”.
“I have received a lot of messages from young Saudi women asking me how it works, how to start playing golf. So just for that, for me it’s a winning week,” she added.
