Michelle Obama's outfit in Saudi Arabia not 'inappropriate' after all

The first lady's attire was in keeping with US diplomatic protocols

After widespread criticism and reports that her uncovered head was blurred in a state television broadcast of the meeting between US president Barack Obama and Saudi Arabia’s new king, it turns out that Michelle Obama was neither the first female US official nor the first western official to bare her hair in the kingdom.

In fact, her attire was in keeping with US diplomatic protocols, long since established, according to The Guardian.

Michelle Obama wore a pair of slacks and a blue top with her hair uncovered. This was in stark contrast to Saudi women who are required to cover from head to toe.



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Though the office of the first lady declined to comment, the White House principal deputy press secretary, Eric Schultz, said at a press briefing, “The attire the first lady wore on this trip is consistent with what first ladies in the past have worn – First Lady Laura Bush, what Secretary Clinton wore on her business to Saudi Arabia, Chancellor Merkel on her business to Saudi Arabia and including other members of the United States delegation at the time.”

Saudi Arabia requires women to war an abaya and cover their hair. Foreign female visitors to the kingdom are generally recommended to abide by the traditional dress code, though often they do not, particularly when they visit the country as part of a foreign delegation.

According to the UK foreign office, “Women should observe the strict Saudi dress code and wear conservative and loose-fitting clothes.”

While the US State Department website states,  “Women who choose not to conform to this dress code face a risk of confrontation by the Mutawwa [Commission of the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice] and possible detention and arrest.”

In pictures of the same visit to Saudi Arabia, neither Nancy Pelosi nor Condoleezza Rice can be seen wearing head scarves (and neither did any of the female members of the 27-person-strong delegation including White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett and national security adviser Susan Rice), mirroring what previous high-ranking members of the US administration have done in the past.

Saudi King Salman, left, greets former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. PHOTO: AFP

King Salman shakes hands with US House minority leader Nancy Pelosi. PHOTO: AFP

On several visits to the kingdom during her time as US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton did not wear a headscarf either. Angela Merkel forwent a head covering during her visit to the kingdom in May 2010, while former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh’s wife, Gursharan Kaur, did not cover her hair and bore a forearm during a 2013 visit.

German chancellor Angela Merkel stands next to King Abdullah during a welcoming ceremony in Jeddah. PHOTO: AFP

 “It really is not required for western women to wear a headscarf when they are in a Muslim country,” Anita McBride, the former chief of staff to Laura Bush, told CBS News.

“They could do it, certainly it is a sign of respect but it’s not a requirement, and having traveled to Saudi Arabia myself, and with Mrs Bush, the only time she put a headscarf on was when it was given to her as a gift by a group of breast cancer survivors who made it for her.”

The first lady came under scrutiny by many in the Muslim world for not doing the same in Saudi Arabia. On the contrary, on a trip to Indonesia with her husband in 2010, Michelle Obama wore a headscarf to a mosque in Jakarta.

Michelle Obama in Indonesia. PHOTO: AFP