Saudi cleric says women need not wear abaya robe in public

in #travel • 7 years ago


First such comment by senior religious figure comes amid liberalisation drive spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman


Saudi cleric says women need not wear abaya robe in public

<meta itemprop="description" content="First" such comment by senior religious figure comes amid liberalisation drive spearheaded by crown prince mohammed bin salman"/></meta>

First such comment by senior religious figure comes amid liberalisation drive spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Agence France-Presse

<time itemprop="datePublished" datetime='2018-02-10T21:24:07-0500' data-timestamp="1518315847000" class="content__dateline-wpd" js-wpd"> Sat 10 Feb 2018 21.24EST </time>

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<input type="checkbox" id="show-caption" class="mobile-only" u-h reveal-caption__checkbox"/> <label class="mobile-only" reveal-caption reveal-caption--img" for="show-caption"> <svg width="6" height="14" viewbox="0" 0 6 14" class="reveal-caption-icon__svg" centered-icon__svg inline-information__svg inline-icon__svg"> <path d="M4.6" 12l-.4 1.4c-.7.2-1.9.6-3 .6-.7 0-1.2-.2-1.2-.9 0-.2 0-.3.1-.5l2-6.7h.7l.4-1.5 4.2-.6h.2l3 12h1.6zm-.3-9.2c-.9 0-1.4-.5-1.4-1.3c2.9.5 3.7 0 4.6 0 5.4 0 6 .5 6 1.3c0 1-.8 1.5-1.7 1.5z"/></path> </svg> </label> <figcaption class="caption" caption--main caption--img" itemprop="description"> <svg width="11" height="10" viewbox="0" 0 11 10" class="hide-until-tablet__svg" inline-triangle__svg inline-icon__svg"> <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M5.5" 0l11 10h0z"/></path> </svg> Saudi Arabia requires women to wear abayas by law Photograph: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images </figcaption> </meta> </meta>

Saudi women should not have to wear the loose-fitting abaya robe to shroud their bodies in public, a senior cleric said, in the latest sign of a far-reaching liberalisation drive.

More than 90% of pious Muslim women in the Muslim world do not wear abayas, said Sheikh Abdullah al-Mutlaq, a member of the council of senior scholars the kingdoms highest religious body.

So we should not force people to wear abayas, he told a television programme broadcast on Friday.

Saudi Arabia, which has some of the worlds tightest restrictions on women, requires them to wear the garment by law.

The government has not said whether it will change the law, but this is the first such comment from a senior religious figure.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has recently introduced a series of reforms in favour of women as the kingdom prepares for a post-oil era.

Saudi Arabia last month allowed women to enter a football stadium for the first time to watch a game.

The move came four months after the kingdom announced an end to a long-standing ban on women driving a major change to the countrys ultra-conservative social order.

But women still face a number of restrictions.

Under Saudi Arabias existing guardianship system, a male family member normally the father, husband or brother must grant permission for a womans study, travel and a host of other activities.

Sheikh Mutlaqs comment sparked a host of reactions on social media, including from other clerics who backed his statement.

One Saudi Twitter user commented: Chastity and morality should not be tied to a piece of cloth.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/11/saudi-cleric-says-women-need-not-wear-abaya-robe-in-public


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