She wore a miniskirt in Saudi Arabia on Snapchat. Now she's reportedly been arrested.
A woman was reportedly arrested after posting a video of herself on Snapchat. Normally, a video of a woman walking in a miniskirt and crop top in the blazing heat would barely get any attention. But this video was filmed at a historic site in Saudi Arabia, where women are expected to dress modestly, with no bare midriffs or knees and uncovered heads.
After the post went viral, the Washington Post reported that Riyadh police arrested the woman for wearing "suggestive clothing," according to Saudi state TV station Al Ekhbariya.
The video was posted Sunday on popular Snapchat user Khulood's account. It showed the woman walking through a desolate ancient village in Ushaiqer, about 100 miles from Riyadh, the nation's capital. The geofilter for the village was used on the Snapchat post.
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Her arrest came Tuesday after the video went viral. As the video spread, calls for her arrest started popping up because she was violating the Muslim nation's decency laws for women.
The country's Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice said it had issued warrants for the woman's and cameraperson's arrest.
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More videos of the woman -- who may be a model according to some reports -- wandering in her summer garb were posted on Facebook. Weather reports from the area put the highs above 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
A local news report over the weekend completely blurred out the woman in the video.
This isn't the first time Saudi officials have gotten upset over fashion choices. Last year in Mecca, police arrested a group of men for wearing ripped jeans, Crocs, and other so-called inappropriate attire during the religious holiday, Ramadan.
UPDATE July 19, 10:39 a.m. PT: The woman was released from police custody Tuesday evening after she was detained and questioned, according to Al Jazeera. No charges were filed against the woman who reportedly didn't know the video had been published.
Topics Snapchat
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
