Outrage in Saudi Arabia: Newsanchor Dressed Provovatively

[Nutso]

She Didn't Wear a Headscarf! Saudi Arabia's culture is in jeopardy.



http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... 695505.cms

The unprecedented appearance of a female newsreader on Saudi state television without a headscarf has caused a scandal in the deeply conservative Islamic state.

The unnamed anchor, who has previously worn a hijab in clips circulated online, was reading a bulletin from London for the Al Ekhbariya channel.

Strict Islamic dress codes in Saudi Arabia require women to dress "modestly" - usually with headscarves, veils and full-length abayas.

While women do sometimes appear without head coverings in programmes broadcast by state-controlled channels, newsreaders are never seen without the hijab.

Saleh Al Mughailif, a spokesman for Saudi radio and television, told Al Tawasul news the correspondent was reading the news from the broadcaster's British studio.

"She was not in a studio inside Saudi Arabia and we do not tolerate any transgression of our values and the country's systems," he added.

He promised that all measures would be taken to ensure there is no repeat of the incident after many viewers expressed outrage.

Al Ekhbariya, which has offices in the Middle East, Europe and America, is known for its use of female anchors after having its maiden broadcast in 2004 presented by the country's first female news presenter.

Social networks in the Saudi kingdom largely commented on the unusual sight of an unveiled woman reading the news, Gulf News reported, and some condemned it as transgression of national traditions.

Others said the issue should not be blown out of proportion or welcomed it as a sign of growing women's rights.

Lashes, hanging and even beheading are among the punishments awaiting women convicted of blasphemy, apostasy, adultery and witchcraft.

It is illegal for women to drive in Saudi Arabia and Islamic codes of behaviour and dress are strictly enforced by the "mutawa" religious police.

What is considered acceptable varies across the country, with the full veil (niqab) worn almost universally in the more conservative capital Riyadh, whereas some women opt for the hijab in the more relaxed city of Jeddah.

Society has been divided over the possibility of granting women more rights as the Government's labour ministry encourages more women to take up jobs in the private sector, against strong resistance from conservative groups.

King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz has appointed 30 women to his advisory body, the Shura Council, in a landmark decision for women's status, Gulf News reported.

A billionaire Saudi prince and businessman, Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal, is also rumoured to take a moderate stance in offices of his Kingdom Holding business empire by not enforcing the veil for employees.

Bet she can't wait to return to the home of Islam, and get stoned to death.

I wonder if she dug the hole she'd be stoned to death in.

[Jim]

The world would be so much better without religion.

[Captain Seafort]

Religion isn't the problem - if it didn't exist the dipshits of the world would just be denied one excuse out of hundreds.

[shran]

I think it is in part due to the amount of exposure to women. The more you try to suppress it, the more active other signals become, whether they be the shape of a body, legs, hairs, or anything else. That makes the women stand out more than they would in a western nation, where people need to parade practically naked to arouse anyone. In Saudi Arabia they just need to be around as a sexual signal.

That is part of the problem, I think. Because there is 'so little' to see in the Saudi Arabia, the women you do see are covered extensively by clothing and men are human beings, with a sex drive and all that, they are incredibly receptive to any 'signals' coming from females. In the western world the threshold tends to be 'higher', but then there is still the other side, being that men should have the decency not to assault and harass women.

[Graham Kennedy]

Meh, doesn't bother me all that much. I think their clothing rules for women are stupid, and obviously very sexist. But then wouldn't we have the same reaction here if a newsreader appeared in clothing that was very revealing by our standards?

Hell, it's not even theoretical - remember the Janet Jackson Superbowl nipple? Outrage in the US, but a lot of Europe shrugged and said "so what"? It's all just local customs and standards, and everyone's local customs and standards look stupid to people who grew up with different ones.

[Sonic Glitch]

Meh, doesn't bother me all that much. I think their clothing rules for women are stupid, and obviously very sexist. But then wouldn't we have the same reaction here if a newsreader appeared in clothing that was very revealing by our standards?

Hell, it's not even theoretical - remember the Janet Jackson Superbowl nipple? Outrage in the US, but a lot of Europe shrugged and said "so what"? It's all just local customs and standards, and everyone's local customs and standards look stupid to people who grew up with different ones.

Yes, but the Janet Jackson Nipple Exposure and other similar events don't carry a risk of lashing or stoning in response. Sure there was Outrage from conservative groups in the U.S. but again, no one is proposing a death penalty or public sentence for indecent exposure. That, I think, is the division. Yes, public exposure (especially in the U.S. ) prompts moral outrage, but no one in the U.S. advocates corporal punishment for them. (at least, no one in a position of power or a majority)

[Graham Kennedy]

I don't disagree with that. But is anybody proposing that this woman be put to death?

[Mikey]

Religion isn't the problem - if it didn't exist the dipshits of the world would just be denied one excuse out of hundreds.

This exactly. To further GK's example, how do we condemn Arabic attitudes towards women - whose crime consists of their innate gender - if in the U. S. only a few years ago Matt Shepherd was beaten, tortured, and murdered for the "crime" of his innate sexual orientation? I mean, I can because I condemn both things - but we can't look at them as a nation and claim to have some national moral high ground.

[McAvoy]

The world would be so much better without religion.

Tell me about it.

I could rent about it but I am drinking beer right now.