Saudi woman in miniskirt video arrested after social media outcry

Agencies
July 19, 2017

Dubai, Jul 19: The woman, whose name was not given, was detained by police in the capital, Riyadh, for wearing "immodest clothes" that contradicted the country's conservative Islamic dress code, state media reported Tuesday. Police referred her case to the public prosecutor, according to the official Twitter account of state-run TV channel al-Ekhbariya.

In the video, which has gone viral since first emerging on Snapchat over the weekend, the woman is filmed walking around a historic fort in a miniskirt with no one else around. The short video, shot in a village in the desert region of Najd, where many of Saudi Arabia's most conservative tribes and families are from, is followed by other shots of her sitting in the desert.

The video sparked a Twitter hashtag that called for her arrest, with many saying she flagrantly disobeyed Saudi rules, which require all women living in the kingdom, including foreigners, to wear long, loose robes known as abayas in public. Most Saudi women also wear a headscarf and veil that covers the face.

Social media is wildly popular in Saudi Arabia as a space to vent frustrations and gauge public opinion. The outcry against the video and the woman's subsequent arrest reveal how powerful and widespread conservative views are in the kingdom, despite recent moves by Saudi Arabia to modernize and loosen some rules.

The country's 31-year-old heir to the throne, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has pushed for greater openings for entertainment in part to appease the youth, who are active on social media and can bypass government censors online. More than half of Saudi Arabia's population is under 25.

The government announced last week that girls would be allowed for the first time to play sports in public school and have access to physical education classes. The powers of the kingdom's religious police have also been curtailed, and they are officially no longer allowed to arrest people.

Despite these moves, strict gender segregation rules and other restrictions on women remain in place. Women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia and cannot obtain a passport or travel abroad without a male relative's permission.

After the woman's video surfaced, some Saudis expressed alarm, saying that Twitter was being used as a tool to out other citizens.

Saudi writer Waheed al-Ghamdi wrote on Twitter that while the woman violated Saudi laws, her actions did not warrant such an outcry because they did not harm others.

"I am simply questioning the lack of priorities regarding anger and alarm expressed over human rights violations and oppression versus the harmless personal choices of others,'' he wrote.

Some of those defending her posted images from President Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia in May, in which First Lady Melania Trump and his daughter Ivanka, though modestly dressed in higher necklines and longer sleeves, did not cover their heads or wear abayas.

One Twitter user, whose post was shared more than 1,700 times, superimposed an image of Ivanka's face on the young Saudi woman's body, writing: "Enough already, the situation has been solved."

The woman's image was blurred on Saudi news websites reporting on the case. It is common in Saudi Arabia to see heavily blurred or pixelated images of women's faces on billboards and storefronts _ in stark contrast to the many towering images of senior male royals displayed across the country.

Comments

Dr.sangsmeshwara
 - 
Saturday, 22 Jul 2017

Congratulations Abdul Ahad and occupy still higher post

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 9,2020

Etawah, Jul 9: Another aide of the Kanpur encounter accused Vikas Dubey, Bahua Dubey, died in an encounter with the police, here on Thursday.

"Today at around 4.30 AM, in an encounter with the Etawah Police, one person has died. from him, a rifle and a pistol too has been recovered. When we shared the information with the Kanpur Police, they identified him as Bahua Dubey," said SSP Etawah Akash Tomar.

"He was involved in the Kanpur encounter alongside Vikas Dubey and there was a bounty of Rs 50,000 on him," he added.

"Around 3 AM on the highway near Mahewa Police Station Bakewar, a Swift Dzire car was looted by four armed assailants on a Scorpio. Around 4:30 AM, they were intercepted at Kachaura road under Police Station Civil lines by the police. When police parties chased them, the car collided with a tree, and criminals started firing at the police," he further said.

Dubey sustained injuries during the encounter and was pronounced dead when taken to the hospital. However, the other three managed to escape. One pistol, a double-barrel gun, and several cartridges have been recovered, he informed further.

Earlier today, Prabhat Mishra, also an aide of the main accused, died after being shot at by the police.

Mishra had sustained an injury on the leg after being shot at by the police and was rushed to a hospital before being pronounced dead.

Vikas Dubey is the main accused in the encounter that took place in Kanpur last week, in which a group of assailants allegedly opened fire on a police team, which had gone to arrest him. Eight police personnel were killed in the encounter.

A search operation is currently underway to nab Dubey.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
May 25,2020

Hyderabad, May 25: Indicating foul play in the death of nine people, including six of a family, whose bodies were fished out from a well near Warangal, a forensic expert on Sunday virtually ruled out suicide theory, saying it appeared seven of them had been dragged and thrown into the water body.

Mystery shrouded the death of nine people, including six of a family, whose bodies were found in a well, five of them on Friday and four on Thursday, on the outskirts of Warangal in Telangana.

Police stepped up the probe and forensic analysis was also underway in the case.

The forensic expert, who visited the crime scene as part of the investigation citing preliminary tests, said that the seven of nine people had scratch injuries and appeared to have been "dragged" and "thrown" into the well.

Forensic reports are expected in 10 days, the forensic expert told media on Sunday adding after examining the crime scene it appears that the deaths were not suicides.

"We have preserved all organs and the same were sent to forensic science laboratory (FSL) for examination... some two or three persons might have been involved in the crime. There are scratch injuries on the bodies," he said.

"It appears that they were thrown into the water... There were no injuries on the child's body. We are awaiting the forensic report (to ascertain) whether they were poisoned. It didn't appear as if they committed suicide," the expert, who performed the post-mortem said.

Police sources said at least two people were picked up for questioning.

Bodies of the head of the family, wife, daughter and three-year old grandson were found floating and fished out on Thursday.

On Friday morning, some bodies were seen floating following which police pumped out the water from the well and found others.

The 48-year old man had migrated from West Bengal over 20 years ago and had settled down here. His family had been staying in two rooms on the premises of the unit, police had earlier said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 7,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 7: A 27-year-old man was allegedly killed using deadly weapons by unidentified people here, police said.

The incident took place at deceased, Arvind's rented house in LBS Nagar inside HAL police station limits.

According to police, Arvind is an accused in a criminal case and recently walked out of jail on bail. 

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.