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| Michelle Obama isn’t the only high-profile guest to not wear a headscarf in Saudi Arabia | Michelle Obama isn’t the only high-profile guest to not wear a headscarf in Saudi Arabia |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Michelle Obama's decision not to wear a headscarf during an official visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday prompted some social media backlash in the country, as well as debate in the United States about whether the first lady was standing up for woman's rights or disrespecting a local culture on an important day. | Michelle Obama's decision not to wear a headscarf during an official visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday prompted some social media backlash in the country, as well as debate in the United States about whether the first lady was standing up for woman's rights or disrespecting a local culture on an important day. |
| But Obama is far from the first prominent foreign woman to skip the headscarf during a visit to Saudi Arabia. Here are a few more: | But Obama is far from the first prominent foreign woman to skip the headscarf during a visit to Saudi Arabia. Here are a few more: |
| Madeleine Albright in 1999 | Madeleine Albright in 1999 |
| Laura Bush in 2007 | Laura Bush in 2007 |
| Condoleezza Rice in 2007 | Condoleezza Rice in 2007 |
| Nancy Pelosi in 2007 | Nancy Pelosi in 2007 |
| Angela Merkel in 2010 | |
| Hilary Clinton in 2012 | Hilary Clinton in 2012 |
| While it's true that Saudi women are expected to cover their heads in the country, female foreigners are held to different standards. As long as they wear loose clothes that cover their arms and legs, they are unlikely to be reprimanded, and in some parts of the country the sight of a foreign woman without a headscarf is not unusual. Because of that, Michelle Obama may not have expected the extraordinary reaction to her dress (other women in her party, including former U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, also did not wear a head scarf). | While it's true that Saudi women are expected to cover their heads in the country, female foreigners are held to different standards. As long as they wear loose clothes that cover their arms and legs, they are unlikely to be reprimanded, and in some parts of the country the sight of a foreign woman without a headscarf is not unusual. Because of that, Michelle Obama may not have expected the extraordinary reaction to her dress (other women in her party, including former U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, also did not wear a head scarf). |
| Some high-profile visitors have worn headscarves when visiting Saudi Arabia. Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, usually wears one on her trips with her husband, Prince Charles, and Laura Bush was photographed briefly wearing a headscarf she received as a gift. | Some high-profile visitors have worn headscarves when visiting Saudi Arabia. Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, usually wears one on her trips with her husband, Prince Charles, and Laura Bush was photographed briefly wearing a headscarf she received as a gift. |
| Others, however, are pretty adamant that thyy won't change their dress. During one trip to Saudi Arabia as secretary of state, Rice was given what she described as a "full-length, beautifully embroidered abaya" by the Saudi crown prince. Rice has not been seen wearing the Islamic garment, which loosely covers the entire body, including the top of the head. She later described the abaya as a "sign of oppression." | Others, however, are pretty adamant that thyy won't change their dress. During one trip to Saudi Arabia as secretary of state, Rice was given what she described as a "full-length, beautifully embroidered abaya" by the Saudi crown prince. Rice has not been seen wearing the Islamic garment, which loosely covers the entire body, including the top of the head. She later described the abaya as a "sign of oppression." |