The incident occurred on Wednesday on the campus of King Saud University, where student Amina Bowzir was suffering from a heart attack, local daily Okaz reported.

Paramedics were called at 11 am, but the university director refused to let them in until 1 pm, when Bowzir had already passed away.

The authorities of the Saudi university, however, justified their decision by arguing that the male medical staff could not enter the premises because some students were not veiled, some of Bowzir’s peers were quoted as saying by the daily.

Noting that Islam allows women to be unveiled in the presence of men in emergencies, one of Bowzir’s fellow students insisted that the decision was entirely unjustified.

“Amina’s life was more than enough of an emergency and we demand that the ones who banned them (medics) from coming in (to campus) to be held accountable,” she said.

The Wahhabi kingdom has strict policies segregating genders in public spaces and restricting basic rights of its female citizens.

For instance, women in the Persian Gulf Arab monarchy are not allowed to drive vehicles.

Wahhabism is a radical interpretation of Islam rejected by most of the Muslim world.

MB/MB