Woman arrested in Saudi Arabia for wearing a miniskirt in public and filming it
A woman was arrested in Saudi Arabia after making a Snapchat video showing her walking through a historic fort while wearing a skirt and crop top, Saudi Arabian state television announced Tuesday.
The unidentified woman was detained in Riyadh, and the case has been referred to the general prosecutor, state media reported. Her attire violated the country's extremely conservative dress code, which has women, including foreigners, wearing abayas, which are long and loose robes; most also don a headscarf and veil. The footage of the woman walking through the village of Najd, a conservative area, went viral, with some criticizing her for explicitly violating the dress code, while others argued that it's time for Saudi Arabia to end clothing restrictions. When Saudi news agencies reported on the video, the woman's image was blurred so her legs and midriff were not visible.
The Saudi government announced last week that for the first time, girls would be able to play sports in public schools and take physical education classes, and in 2015, women were able to vote and run for office for the first time. Women still are not allowed to drive or get a passport or travel abroad without permission from a male relative.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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