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US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited Riyadh on Tuesday to pay tribute to the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
But social media missed the plan to show support and condolences, and much of the attention focused on something else: the first lady’s outfit.
For First Lady Michelle Obama, just a few hours in Saudi Arabia was enough to illustrate the harsh limits Saudi women live under.
U.S. President Barack Obama welcomes members of the Saudi royal family, government officials, and guests as First Lady Michelle Obama and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman (R) look on at Elga Palace in Riyadh, January 27, 2015 (Reuters)
Mrs. Obama stepped off Air Force One fully covered, wearing long pants and a light-colored long jacket, but not a scarf, the Associated Press reported.
That’s unusual. In Saudi Arabia a woman is required to cover her head.
The Saudi women’s dress code requires Saudi women to wear headscarves and loose-fitting black robes in public.
Most women cover their hair and face with a veil called a niqab.
(Reuters)
However, foreigners are not required to cover their heads, and some Western women choose not to wear a headscarf while in Saudi Arabia.
Other foreign female guests also do not wear headscarves in photos from official events.
The Washington Post reported that on Tuesday, more than 1,500 tweets were sent using the hashtag #ميشيل_أوباما_سفور (roughly #Michelle_Obama_unveiled), many of them criticizing the first lady.
Some users pointed out that Michelle wore a scarf during her trip to Indonesia. Why not Saudi Arabia?
AP
But just to be clear, in Indonesia, the first lady covered her head while touring Jakarta’s Istiklal Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia.
However, not everyone was harshly negative about Michelle’s dress code.
Some Saudis also said on social media that they understood it was a short visit and urged people not to criticize the wife of one of the kingdom’s most important allies.
The United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have a long-standing relationship and remain bound by shared interests in regional stability and oil, AFP news agency said.
AP
In 2012, Hillary Clinton, then the US Secretary of State and one of the most famous female figures in the world, visited Saudi Arabia without a head covering.
With her ankles exposed, Clinton discussed important issues with the late King Abdullah.
Headgear controversy aside, the United States and Saudi Arabia (the world’s largest oil exporter) have been strategic allies since the 1940s.
See also: UAE movie list
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