Saudi Arabia: Woman in mini skirt arrested for showing bare legs in video released without charge

A WOMAN who was arrested after walking around a conservative Saudi village wearing a short skirt and black crop top has been released without charge.

A WOMAN who was arrested after walking around a conservative Saudi village wearing a short skirt and black crop top has been released without charge.

Saudi questioned the woman for a few hours and the case was then closed, the ministry said in a statement.

The woman told investigators that a film posted on social media, showing her in a miniskirt as she walked in a historic Saudi village, was published without her knowledge”.

The video, which quickly went viral, sparked a backlash in the deeply conservative kingdom with many accusing her of violating the country’s strict Islamic dress code.

Saudi police said the woman was detained in the capital Riyadh for wearing “immodest clothes”.

“She admitted to visiting the site in question with a male guardian, and that the viral videos were published by an account attributed to her without her knowledge,” a police spokesman said.

State-run TV channel al-Ekhbariya tweeted reported the woman’s case has now been referred to the public prosecutor.

It comes after the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice tweeted that it had “intercepted a clip of a girl in inappropriate clothing” and had opened an investigation with the “relevant authorities.”

A still from the video that has caused such a stir.

The BBC reported that the woman, a model who identifies herself as ‘Khulood’ was filmed, seemingly with her consent, walking through the historic fort of Ushayqir.

The video was uploaded to social media site Snapchat but has been widely distributed via Twitter

In the video, Khulood is seen wearing a skirt that ends just above the knees and a short sleeved shirt. She is mostly filmed from behind but at one point turns to the camera, large sunglasses hiding much of her face.

لو كانت اجنبية كان تغزلوا بجمال خصرها وفتنتة عيناها .. بس لانها سعودية يطلبوا محاكمتها ! #مطلوب_محاكمة_مودل_خلود
pic.twitter.com/ttYqynySN2

— فاطمة العيسى (@50BM_) July 16, 2017

But it wasn’t just the clothing that has raised eyebrows — it’s also the choice of location.

Close to the nation’s capital of Riyadh, Ushayqir is in a conservative region where one of the founders Wahhabiism — a strict form of Islam practised by the Saudi royal family — was born.

Saudi newspapers, reporting on the video, have even taken to pixelating out the woman’s bare arms and legs as they comment on her “indecent clothing”.

These regulations, based on sharia law, demand that a woman wear loose full length robes known as abayas plus a headscarf.

Woman in Saudi Arabia must wear full length robes and headscarves. Picture: AP.

It is not necessary for women to cover their faces and accessories are not legislated so it is not uncommon to see a designer handbag being carried by a woman sporting a black robe.

However, women cannot drive and cannot be seen in the company of men they are not related to.

Some have called on the religious police to track Khulood down. One person on social media said a country’s laws should be respected.

“In France, the niqab is banned and women are fined if they wear it. In Saudi Arabia, wearing abayas and modest clothing is part of the kingdom’s laws.”

Saudi Arabian news outlets have even taken to pixelating out the woman’s bare flesh.

A newspaper in Saudi Arabia reported the woman was wearing “indecent clothes” and was “indifferent to the teaching of religion and imposed by tradition”.

But others have commended her bravery.

Wael al-Gassim, a writer and philosopher, said the reaction to the video was ridiculous. “I thought she had bombed or killed somebody. The story turned out to be about her skirt, which they did not like.”

In recent years, a number of female leaders visiting Saudi Arabia, including former First Lady Michelle Obama and UK Prime Minister Theresa May, have shunned head scarfs with little apparent concern from their hosts.

British Prime Minister Theresa May chose not to wear a head covering when she visited Saudi Arabia in April. Picture: AFP

This is despite even foreign women being subject to some of the laws covering clothing — including wearing head scarfs when in public.

But for Saudi women the rules are still enforced.

Just last week the government announced that girls will now be allowed to play sports in school and have access to physical education classes.

The country’s religious police have also been restricted and they no longer have the power to arrest people, CBS News reported.