Police in the Saudi capital said on Monday they had arrested a woman for taking off her veil in public and posting pictures of her daring action on Twitter.
Police spokesman Fawaz al-Maiman did not name the woman, but several websites identified her as Malak al-Shehri, who triggered a huge backlash on social media after posing without the hijab in a main Riyadh street last month.
Maiman said in a statement that the police in the ultra-conservative kingdom acted in line with their duty to monitor “violations of general morals”.

He said the women posted a tweet of herself standing next to a popular Riyadh cafe but without wearing the Islamic headscarf that is required in Saudi society.
The woman, in her 20s, was taken to prison, he said, also accusing her of “speaking openly about prohibited relations with (non-related) men”.
Soon after her post went viral, many were quick to react:
If you find no problem in that, you have no self respect. Women have the right to wear whatever they want. Just like men do in this country. https://t.co/cJgiW6rNLW
— Anon #FreeMalak (@dontcarebut) December 13, 2016
Where are the people who were saying no one asked for Malak to be killed? Here you go. More examples of demands for her to be killed. https://t.co/BSWqzofYlI
— Anon #FreeMalak (@dontcarebut) December 12, 2016
This is 21-year old Malak al-Shehri. She took a pic without her headscarf & now faces lashes. Welcome to #SaudiArabia, the US’s best friend. pic.twitter.com/A1fbnauDeh
— Sarah Abdallah (@sahouraxo) December 12, 2016
Today’s UN Watch Hero of the Day: Malak al-Shehri. She deserves to have been elected @UN Human Rights Council, not her Saudi oppressor. pic.twitter.com/DJyAhtr443
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) December 14, 2016
“Riyadh police stress that the action of this woman violates the laws applied in this country,” Maiman said, urging the public to “adhere to the teachings of Islam”.
The oil-rich desert kingdom has some of the world’s tightest restrictions on women and is the only country where they are not allowed to drive. Women in Saudi Arabia are expected to cover from head to toe when in public.
(With inputs from AFP)
(Feature image source: Twitter)