RIYADH – Saudi women need not wear the abaya – the loose-fitting,full-length robes symbolic of religious faith – a senior member of the topMuslim clerical body said.
On his television program, Sheikh Abdullah al-Mutlaq, a member of theCouncil of Senior Scholars, said Muslim women should dress modestly, butthis did not necessitate wearing the abaya.
“More than 90 percent of pious Muslim women in the Muslim world do not wearabayas,” Sheikh Mutlaq said on Friday. “So we should not force people towear abayas.”
While not necessarily signalling a change in the law, the statement is thefirst of its kind from a senior religious figure. It follows the recentpattern of freedoms the Kingdom has been witnessing with the ascent ofyoung Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to power.
Only the government-appointed clerics associated with the Council of SeniorScholars are allowed to issue fatwas, or Islamic legal opinions. Theirinterpretations of Islamic law form the basis of Saudi Arabia’s legalsystem.
Saudi women have started wearing more colorful abayas in recent years, thelight blues and pinks in stark contrast with the traditional black. Openabayas over long skirts or jeans are also becoming more common in someparts of the country.
The trend marks a major change in the last couple of years. In 2016, aSaudi woman was detained for removing her abaya on a main street in thecapital of Riyadh. Local media reported that she was detained after acomplaint was filed with the religious police.
The Kingdom has seen an expansion in women’s rights recently, such as thedecision passed to allow women to attend mixed public sporting events andthe announcement that Saudi Arabia would grant them the right to drive.
These are some of the many changes the country has undergone in recentmonths, hailed as proof of a new progressive trend in the deeplyconservative Muslim Kingdom.
But despite these changes, the gender-segregated nation is criticised forits continued constraints on women. Activists have blasted the country’sguardianship system which requires a male family member to grant permissionfor a woman to study abroad, travel and other activities.
On Thursday, a London-based Saudi rights group, ALQST, reported thedetention last month of activist Noha al-Balawi, saying she was questionedby Saudi authorities on her involvement with women’s rights and humanrights movements.
The government’s Centre for International Communications did notimmediately respond to requests for comment.