×
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Saudis refute reports that TV channel blurred Michelle

Last Updated 28 January 2015, 08:33 IST

A controversy erupted after a few news agencies reported that Saudi Arabia’s state-run television blurred the visuals of first lady of the US Michelle Obama during a live telecast.

Michelle accompanied her husband president Barack Obama for a condolence visit after the death of the King Abdullah.

The reports claimed that the Saudi TV blurred out Michelle as she was not wearing a headscarf during a meeting between president Obama and the new Saudi king.

However, Saudi Arabian embassy to the US was quick to refute the reports of blurring out Michelle in  Saudi television. "Report by Bloomberg View's Josh Rogin that Saudi TV "blurred" image of First Lady Michelle Obama is FALSE. Should check facts, not Facebook," the  embassy wrote on its Twitter account.

A report on The Wall Street Journal also suggested that no such thing happened. "Observers of the live broadcast — including a Wall Street Journal reporter in the country — said that there was no blurring of Mrs. Obama, and that the broadcast showed her shaking hands with King Salman."

Under the kingdom's strict dress code for women, Saudi females are required to wear a headscarf and loose, black robes in public. Most women in Saudi Arabia cover their hair and face with a veil known as the niqab.

The first lady stepped off of Air Force One wearing long pants and a long, brightly coloured jacket, but no headscarf.

But covering one's head is not required for foreigners, and some Western women choose to forego the headscarf while in Saudi Arabia.

As a delegation of dozens of Saudi officials, all men, greeted the Obamas in Riyadh, some shook hands with Mrs. Obama. Others avoided a handshake but acknowledged the first lady with a nod as they passed by.

Saudi Arabia imposes many restrictions on women on the strict interpretation of Islamic Shariah (shah-REE'-yuh) law known as Wahhabism. Genders are strictly segregated.

Women are banned from driving, although there have been campaigns in recent years to lift that ban.

Guardianship laws also require women to get permission from a male relative to travel, get married, enroll in higher education or undergo certain surgical procedures.

Watch: An YouTube video purportedly showing blurred out Michelle

ADVERTISEMENT
(Published 28 January 2015, 08:18 IST)

Follow us on

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT