The Snapchat model known as Khulood, was arrested and charged with publicly wearing “immodest clothes” after posting a video of herself wearing a crop top and mini-skirt. This was in contravention of the Saudi law stating that women appearing in public are required to don an abaya – a long loose fitting robe – as well as having their hair covered.
The law in question derives form the the particularly austere interpretation of Islam, known as Wahhabism, drawing heavily from the the tribal and patriarchal customs of the region. Wahhabism is a puritanical and fundamentalist branch of Sunni Islam.
The video depicted Khulood walking through the historic city of Ushaiager. The village in question is situated within the Najd Province, the birthplace of Wahhabism.
Khulood is credited as an activist for women’s rights in her home country. This is not her first transgression which she gained attention for appearing in videos showing her in protest of the unreasonable local laws; she previously appeared in a video of herself driving a car in protest of the Saudi Law prohibiting women from driving a motor vehicle.
Read the editorial for Liberation is Not Deliverance here.
Wolfe Drake is a staff writer for ART AFRICA.
