Mazin Sidahmed - Saudi Arabia woman who posted photo without head scarf is arrested
Saudi police have
arrested a young woman who tweeted a picture of herself outdoors without the
body-length robes and head scarf that women in the kingdom are required to
wear. A woman identified as
Malak al-Shehri posted a picture of herself on Twitter in a jacket and
multi-colored dress last month after announcing that she would leave her house
without her abaya, a long loose-fitting robe, and headscarf.
The tweet caused
a backlash with many calling for Shehri – whose first name means
angel, which was also her moniker online – to be executed with the hashtag “We
demand the arrest of the rebel Angel Shehri.” The picture posted on
the downtown Riyadh street of al-Tahliya, led to someone filing a complaint
with the religious police, and eventually to the woman’s arrest, according to
the local Arabic-language Al-Sharq newspaper.
A police spokesman
told the newspaper that Shehri, who is in her 20s, was taken to prison and he
also accused her of “speaking openly about prohibited relations with
(non-related) men”. “Police officers have
detained a girl who had removed her abaya on al-Tahliya street, implementing a
challenge she announced on social media several days ago,” the newspaper quoted
Colonel Fawaz al-Maiman as saying. The country imposes a strict
dress code on women in public, as well as banning them from driving and mixing
with men they are not related to.
Police spokesman
Maiman reportedly said in a statement that they had acted inline with their
duty to monitor “violations of general morals”. After a fierce
backlash from ultra-conservative critics online, Shehri took down the picture
and deleted her Twitter account. Other Twitter users came
out in support, with one comparing her to Rosa Parks.
Thousands of Saudis signed
a petition in September that demanded the government abolish the
guardianship system, which prevents women from engaging in fundamental tasks
without the permission of a male relative. In late November,
Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal broke with norms and called for lifting of the
ban on women driving. “Stop the debate,” he wrote on
Twitter. “It’s time for women to drive.”
see also
