Saudi women without a cloak .. Different visions of the identity of new women

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Standing on the sidewalk between two parallel roads that never meet, she drinks iced juice in jeans and a shirt with short sleeves and her hair flies; but does this girl realize that she is in Riyadh and that her life is in danger because she does not wear the black abaya?

She and a few like her, Manahil Al-Otaibi chose to protest the wearing of the black abaya in Saudi Arabia, which is often seen as a uniform throughout the kingdom, and went out into the street without a veil, at a time when leaving the abaya open from the front or wearing it embroidered or colored an unusual scene But he recently imposed himself amid a wave of change experienced by Saudi women.

Bin Salman protects me
"I want to live like what I am, that's the idea," said 25-year-old Manahel Al-Otaibi.

Next to Al-Otaibi, others defied tradition by wandering in public places without a veil or black cloak.In a scene not familiar with the country, Saudi Arabia's torches broke the traditions and customs of Saudi women's clothing, and went on a tour of the streets of Riyadh, jacket and pants, so she looked different from the region Of them.

During her day in the streets of Riyadh without a cloak and veil, Al-Jaloud denied the existence of clear laws or protection, but relies on the statement of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that she has freedom of choice in what she wears, but this is not always the case, especially since security officials in a commercial market refused to enter Flares because they do not adhere to the uniform imposed, last July.

In a previous statement, bin Salman said that Sharia did not oblige women to wear a black cloak, as was imposed on women in Riyadh at the end of last year, in an interview with CBS, and that Saudi women should choose their own clothes to be respectful and decent.

This statement was in clear violation of the order imposed by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice on Saudi women and others to wear the black abaya, and the right to pursue them in public places to ensure that they implement the orders.

Despite the decline of the authority's authority before Mohammed bin Salman's statements, many of the rules that define the role and shape of women in Saudi society and gender segregation practices are not covered by law, but derive from tradition, and adhered to by some families in particular, and state employees in general, Under the clause "consistent with the nature of women"; the Ministry of Labor still operates with general regulations for the employment of women, including the wearing of the abaya, which worries them if they apply the perceptions of Mohammed bin Salman without clear laws to protect them.

Freedom and what bin Salman gives
A few weeks ago, Saudi women celebrated for the first time their ability to travel without the consent of a guardian, as part of the decision to lift the laws of male guardianship on women, so that all those who reached the age of twenty-one able to obtain a passport, registration of births and deaths, and non-compliance with the residence of her guardian, and the right to Be a head of household and register it in the Civil Status Department just like men.

Two years ago, King Salman issued a decree lifting the ban on women driving. In the same month, women attended Saudi National Day celebrations for the first time in their history, and were able to enter stadiums to watch football matches in some cities last month.

Different visions of identity
The long distances that come between turning the society and trying to get rid of the restrictions, have not yet commensurate with the nature of society, amid popular and religious rejection; even the interpretation of bin Salman's statement differed between the non-imposition of the cloak or that the cloak can be a color other than black; but what he meant was clear to those who He continues his steps in the Kingdom's reform drive to change the social role of women for economic reasons.

Following the statements of bin Salman came the support of the Council of Senior Ulema, the highest religious body in the Kingdom, represented by its member Abdullah al-Mutlaq, that women should wear modest clothing, without necessarily necessarily wearing the abaya; more than 90% of committed Muslims around the world do not wear Abaya, he said.

The preacher and forensic researcher Sheikh Ahmed al-Ghamdi said that women are not bound by the black cloak, and only to cover her body; religious statements that appeared to support the Crown Prince in preparation for a possible law.

But Saudi women 's removal of the headscarf and their access to more rights coincides with the flight of more girls than ever before, according to the UNHCR report. Between 2012 and 2017, the number of Saudi asylum seekers rose by 318%, only the percentage of those who registered their applications, compared to those who fled to airports and sought asylum from there under police chases and the possibility of failure.

On the other hand, many Saudis see the need to apply the law to girls who have graduated and took to the streets, claiming that they "deliberately break the law, raise problems, and display their bodies, which is a clear dissolution, and a violation of public taste."

The women participated on Twitter on various tags such as #Saudi_Wanted_Cloak, #Returns_Want_Cloak, and others, to express their rejection of the steps of the women, and they do not want to abandon the cloak, but call to inform the police about the abandoned.