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A female news presenter without a headscarf in Saudi Arabia

VCheng

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@al-Hasani Is this the sort of struggle for social change that you were referring to in the Saudi Arabia tourist visa thread? The winds of change are here, but there is still a lot to be done, it seems:



Outrage in Saudi Arabia after female presenter reads the news in the country without a veil | Mail Online

Outrage in Saudi Arabia after female British TV presenter becomes the first woman ever to read the news in the country without a veil
  • Newsreader appeared on the Kingdom-owned Al Ekhbariya news channel
  • Her bulletin prompted several news stories and storm of Twitter reaction
  • Women often show their hair on Saudi TV including on foreign-made shows
  • But it is thought to be first time state news presenter has been uncovered
  • Channel released a statement and said the incident would not happen again
By DAN BLOOM

PUBLISHED: 12:07 EST, 4 August 2014 | UPDATED: 14:09 EST, 4 August 2014

A newsreader has caused a stir in Saudi Arabia by shunning traditional Islamic dress to deliver a bulletin 'bare-headed'.

The presenter was broadcasting from the London studio of Al Ekhbariya, a state-owned news channel which featured the Kingdom's first female newsreader when it launched a decade ago.

Women often appear on Saudi TV without wearing headscarves or veils, but the appearance was thought by many to be the first by a newsreader on a government-owned station.

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Significant: Saudi news sites suggested it was the first time a presenter has read a bulletin without wearing a veil or headscarf on a state-owned news channel. The newsreader was broadcasting in Arabic from London
 
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She was broadcasting from outside the country. The Islamic dress code only apply to women who are residing in the country whether permanently or temporary although headscarf or Hijab is not strictly enforced at all. Neither there is a law for that where women have to comply with. What I find amusing is that those who voiced such concern are neglecting hundreds of Saudi owned channels like MBC group, Rotana..etc where Islamic values as a whole is out of their equation. :wacko:
 
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She was broadcasting from outside the country. The Islamic dress code only apply to women who are residing in the country whether permanently or temporary although headscarf or Hijab is not strictly enforced at all. Neither there is a law for that where women have to comply with. What I find amusing is that those who voiced such concern are neglecting hundreds of Saudi owned channels like MBC group, Rotana..etc where Islamic values as a whole is out of their equation. :wacko:

so you are telling me women can go live on news channels without wearing scarf in Saudi Arabia?
 
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Watch: Unveiled Saudi anchorwoman causes controversy | GulfNews.com

so you are telling me women can go live on news channels without wearing scarf in Saudi Arabia?

Technically yes but for religious and cultural reasons it will be looked down upon. Yet this female presenter works on a Saudi Arabian TV-station based in London called Al-Ekhbariya.

I don't see anything wrong with a hijab (veil) or even a niqab. Women in the Arab and Muslim world do not associate it with any oppression or anything like people from the outside tend to do nor do they see it as anything enforced on them. By far the vast majority wear it completely out of their free will due to religious reasons mainly aside from tradition etc.

Yet there are unveiled women in KSA let alone Saudi Arabians outside of KSA. No big deal either way anyway.

Female presenters in KSA usually look like this below:


Silly discussion really.

P.S:

Headscarfs/veils predate Islam by many millenniums in the ancient Arab world. Look at how Christianity portrays Miriam (ra) who was from our region like all other known religious personalities and Prophets etc.
 
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She was broadcasting from outside the country. The Islamic dress code only apply to women who are residing in the country whether permanently or temporary although headscarf or Hijab is not strictly enforced at all. Neither there is a law for that where women have to comply with. What I find amusing is that those who voiced such concern are neglecting hundreds of Saudi owned channels like MBC group, Rotana..etc where Islamic values as a whole is out of their equation. :wacko:

Wasn't FOX news also partly owned by a Saudi? I guess that would mean that its a private holding and has nothing to do with the Saudi Government. But that Hannity interview was a real eye opener. Wonder what they would talk about when they all sit around in their board meeting.
 
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Wasn't FOX news also partly owned by a Saudi? I guess that would mean that its a private holding and has nothing to do with the Saudi Government. But that Hannity interview was a real eye opened. Wonder what they would talk about when they all sit around in their board meeting.

Al-Arabiya is owned by the Saudi Arabian satellite broadcasting company, MBC (biggest of its kind in the ME) and all of the female Arab news presenters (Saudi Arabian and non-Saudi Arabian) do not wear any veil either which anyone can see by just watching Al-Arabiya.

MBC which is owned by Waleed al-Ibrahim has from my memory nothing to do with any Fox News. You must be thinking about Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.

Middle East Broadcasting Center - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Al-Waleed bin Talal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He is the one that has shares in Google, Twitter, Facebook etc. aside from being one of the richest people on earth and a tremendous businessman. He is not part of the government though so not really relevant here. He is the one that tends to use non-veiled local women in his firms in KSA which he tends to be criticized for among the more conservative circles in the country.

That's about it.
 
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