BEIRUT, Lebanon — Does Islam allow girls to play tag? What about soccer?

Such questions have suddenly become points of public policy in Saudi Arabia as public schools in the ultraconservative kingdom prepare, for the first time in their history, to offer physical education for girls.

The Saudi education ministry said on Tuesday that P.E. for girls would start with the coming academic year, marking a slight loosening of the rules in a country that has long had one of the world’s most restrictive environments for women.

The announcement did not detail what activities would be offered, but said they would be introduced gradually and “in accordance with the rules of sharia,” or Islamic law.

Because of the kingdom’s desert traditions and strict interpretation of Islam, women in Saudi Arabia must cover their hair and bodies in public, and are barred from driving and from traveling abroad and undergoing some medical treatments without the permission of a male guardian — usually a father, husband or even a son.