‘Niqab under my foot’ — Saudi women step on veils in online protest

Saudi woman dressed in black robe walks behind a man wearing all white.

Saudi women are stepping on the face veils some are made to wear in the conservative kingdom of Saudi Arabia and posting it on social media with the hashtag “the niqab under my foot.”

The campaign marks the latest protest against strict dress codes for women in Saudi Arabia, who are required to wear abayas — loose, all-covering robes — in public and in most of the country to cover their hair and faces.

Related: Saudi women can drive, but are their voices being heard?

Women took to Twitter with stories of being forced to wear the face veil, using the hashtag. Some posted photos of them stepping on the garment in protest:

View post on X

Another tweeted: 

View post on X

The campaign attracted criticism, with some saying it was disrespectful to women who chose to wear the niqab:

View post on X

It is not the first time Saudi women have protested on social media against religious dress codes. Last month women wore their abayas inside out in protest.

Related: This cover of The Beatles’ ‘Drive My Car’ celebrates Saudi women’s new right to drive

Saudi Arabia has no written legal code to go with the texts making up sharia — the Islamic law that effectively governs the kingdom — but police and judiciary have long enforced a strict dress code.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in March that women only needed to dress modestly and were not required to wear abayas. But Saudi women say that in practice nothing has changed, and demanded more freedom.

Related: Jailed Saudi women’s rights activists subjected to psychological, physical abuse

Saudi women have started wearing more colorful abayas in recent years, the light blues and pinks in stark contrast with the traditional black. Open abayas over long skirts or jeans are also becoming more common in some parts of the country.

Invest in independent global news

The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!