Saudi Police Release Woman Detained for Wearing a Short Skirt
Woman in video that went viral was released without charge; case closed by prosecutor
Women walking in Riyadh. PHOTO: FAISAL AL NASSER/REUTERS
Saudi Arabia’s government on Wednesday said police released a woman who had been taken into custody for wearing a short skirt and a crop top, an act of defiance that provoked anger in the conservative kingdom.
A video of the woman in the skirt walking in a deserted alley of a historic town had in recent days gone viral on social media in Saudi Arabia, triggering a debate among Saudis, with some wanting her punished and others defending her.
Stop scratching on holidays
the witch wears a skirt and bets horses
Claude Solnik
Long Island Business News
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Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-7348
Home > LI Confidential > Stop scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB w
the witch wears a skirt and bets horses
Her release represents a small but symbolic step toward loosening the kingdom’s strict social strictures. The debate sparked by the video reflects broader domestic tensions about the future of the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia espouses an ultraconservative interpretation of Sunni Islam and applies some of the world’s tightest restrictions on women. Under the country’s dress code, women wear all-covering loose gowns known as abayas, usually in black.
The woman in the video, who hasn’t been named, was briefly detained and questioned on Tuesday before police released her later that night, the Saudi Ministry of Interior said on Wednesday.
“She was released without charge and the case has been closed by the prosecutor,” it said in a statement. The woman told authorities the video was published without her knowledge.
The monarchy, under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is pushing for social change as it moves to open up and diversify its oil-dependent economy. In a country where cinemas are banned, there is now an agency tasked with promoting entertainment.
More women are entering the workforce.
But much of the population remains deeply conservative and many, including some senior clerics, have vocally opposed reform, including efforts to lift the ban on women driving.
Write to Margherita Stancati at margherita.stancati@wsj.com
