Despite reports to the contrary, Saudi state television did not blur First Lady Michelle Obama during a broadcast of a meeting between President Barack Obama and the new Saudi king, Salman bin Abdul Aziz,
The Wall Street Journal reports.
Mrs. Obama accompanied the president on a trip to Riyadh this week to pay respects for the passing of King Abdullah. The Journal reports that Mrs. Obama was not digitally obscured on state television — rather, an amateur video circulated showing her completely blurred.
She did cause a bit of controversy for choosing to forgo a headscarf or veil, though she did wear conservative clothing that included loose-fitting long pants and a bright blue patterned long-sleeved jacket that covered her arms entirely.
The kingdom has a strict dress code for women, requiring them to wear a headscarf and loose, black robes in public, according to
The Associated Press, which notes that there is an exception for foreigners.
Twitter lit up Tuesday with comments about the first lady’s decision not to wear a headscarf, many of them critical, accompanied with an Arabic hashtag that translates to #Michelle_Obama_unveiled.
Others used the social media portal to question why Mrs. Obama chose to wear a headscarf on a recent trip to Indonesia but not in Saudi Arabia,
The Washington Post reports.
Many took to Twitter to laud Mrs. Obama’s decision.
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