Saudi cleric’s wife shows face on TV, sparks uproar

[HAIDER]

Saudi women, with unveiled faces, walk inside the 'Faysalia' mall in Riyadh City. — AFP/File
DUBAI: A Saudi cleric has sparked uproar by appearing on television along with his wife — whose face was uncovered in an open challenge to strict tradition in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

Sheikh Ahmed al-Ghamedi, who has said covering the face is not a must for women under Islam, sat alongside his wife Jawaher bint Ali as she spoke to Dubai-based Saudi MBC television, in a programme broadcast at the weekend. Saudi women rarely show their faces in public.

Sporting trendy sunglasses, light makeup and varnished nails, but also wearing the traditional black abaya cloak, Ghamedi’s spouse spoke of the problems their children have at school because of their father’s controversial fatwas or edicts.

“Our children complain that some teachers tell them: why does your father say this and that?” she said of fatwas that have enraged zealots in the kingdom.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2014

 

[Mosamania]

It didn't spark uproar it sparked a debate, and the result was that it is now established that covering the face is not a must. More women begun walking outside without face veils now.

 

[Special Delivery]

It didn't spark uproar it sparked a debate, and the result was that it is now established that covering the face is not a must. More women begun walking outside without face veils now.

If this is indeed true that's absolutely brilliant. No Muslim woman should have to cover her face, so many of them are beautiful and we in the west think they must look like men hence the veils. It would change a lot of perceptions.

 

[Mosamania]

If this is indeed true that's absolutely brilliant. No Muslim woman should have to cover her face, so many of them are beautiful and we in the west think they must look like men hence the veils. It would change a lot of perceptions.

It is still a matter of prefrence though, many women still believe that covering the face is a must, however the ones who didn't believe in the first place now can do it, (though could do it before but now it is more established).

 

[Special Delivery]

It is still a matter of prefrence though, many women still believe that covering the face is a must, however the ones who didn't believe in the first place now can do it, (though could do it before but now it is more established).

Sure, it should be the woman's choice. But I don't know which woman would choose to hide her face without some sort of peer pressure or official pressure. I can say that it's a great thing such an ambiguous and backwards tradition was challenged by their own cleric and his wife. My own perception of the Saudi people has been changed from this one minor story. Perhaps there is still hope for Saudi Arabia to come out of the stone ages, socially speaking.

 

[Mosamania]

Sure, it should be the woman's choice. But I don't know which woman would choose to hide her face without some sort of peer pressure or official pressure. I can say that it's a great thing such an ambiguous and backwards tradition was challenged by their own cleric and his wife. My own perception of the Saudi people has been changed from this one minor story. Perhaps there is still hope for Saudi Arabia to come out of the stone ages, socially speaking.

Religious reasons trump all other pressures, when a woman grows up believing that her face should be covered in public and it is what God wants you to do they tend to believe that.

Other woman are told that it is their choice and there is I religious rule that says you must, currently the feeling in KSA is that covering the face is like for women what growing a beard is for men, it is not a must but if you do it you score more brownie points with God.

 

[SOHEIL]

 

[thesolar65]

Good looking!!

 

[Falcon29]

Where is the program? That's not her in the photo. Covering face isn't mandatory. Lots of women do it so their face doesn't get darker from heat. At least where I am from. And some prefer it because they're religious. Very few cases are related to peer pressure.

Here it is:

 

[al-Hasani]

Nonsense "article". Millions of women are not wearing a full veil (niqab) already and have been doing that always. It's always been a personal choice and rarely is anyone forced.

Such topics should be discussed among Saudi Arabians or fellow Arabs. Most foreigners have no clue about the ground realities.

It's like if you asked Arabs or Europeans to talk about social customs in Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, Zimbabwe or Burma etc.

Anyway Ghamdi is such a joker.

 

[HAIDER]

She is pretty, nodoubt.......those Suadis have ugly wives are whining ....

 

[Kompromat]

These clerics need to be dropped in the Arabian Sea!

 

[Sliver]

the cleircs that say "women dont need to cover their faces"?

 

[FaujHistorian]

Nonsense "article". Millions of women are not wearing a full veil (niqab) already and have been doing that always. It's always been a personal choice and rarely is anyone forced.

Such topics should be discussed among Saudi Arabians or fellow Arabs. Most foreigners have no clue about the ground realities.

It's like if you asked Arabs or Europeans to talk about social customs in Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, Zimbabwe or Burma etc.

Anyway Ghamdi is such a joker.

I expect better from you bro.

"Ajams" have done much better than Arabs when it comes to social progress.

It is OK if they comment on Arabs.

No need to be so defensive.

These clerics need to be dropped in the Arabian Sea!

Right now sadly, these clerics have been dropping Pakistanis in the sea.

Their hateful ideology has unfortunately penetrated Pakistan from top to bottom.

Yeah, our women can drive, and can work, or not wear niqab

but we have definitely become more jihaabis more hijabis thanks to the stone age teachings of these clerics.

 

[al-Hasani]

I expect better from you bro.

"Ajams" have done much better than Arabs when it comes to social progress.

It is OK if they comment on Arabs.

No need to be so defensive.

I am nevertheless correct. I don't see the point of such threads when 99% of the potential participators do not know what they are talking about. I don't see Arab users commenting on the social issues of Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, Burma, Zimbabwe, Bolivia, Panama, Congo, Tahiti etc. Hell not even Pakistan.

That's not correct. Depends which Arab country you are talking about and what you are comparing with.

I don't think that headscarfs are a big deal anyway nor has that anything to do with any progress of any kind.

Anyway I should not even have participated in this thread. It was bound to become a troll fest from the get-go.

Please continue in the same direction.