Police in the Saudi capital said on Monday
they had arrested a woman for taking off
her veil in public and posting pictures of
her daring action on Twitter.
Police spokesman Fawaz al-Maiman did not
name the woman, but several websites
identified her as Malak al-Shehri, who
triggered a huge backlash on social media
after posing without the hijab in a main
Riyadh street last month.
Maiman said in a statement that the police
in the ultra-conservative kingdom acted in
line with their duty to monitor “violations of
general morals”.
He said the women posted a tweet of
herself standing next to a popular Riyadh
cafe but without wearing the Islamic
headscarf that is required in Saudi society.
The woman, in her 20s, was taken to
prison, he said, also accusing her of
“speaking openly about prohibited relations
with (non-related) men”.
“Riyadh police stress that the action of this
woman violates the laws applied in this
country,” Maiman said, urging the public to
“adhere to the teachings of Islam”.
The oil-rich desert kingdom has some of
the world’s tightest restrictions on women
and is the only country where they are not
allowed to drive.
Women in Saudi Arabia are expected to
cover from head to toe when in public.
0 Comments