On his television programme, Sheikh Abdullah al-Mutlaq, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, said Muslim women should dress modestly, but this did not necessitate wearing the abaya. "More than 90 percent of pious Muslim women in the Muslim world do not wear abayas," Sheikh Mutlaq said on Friday. Saudi women have started wearing more colourful abayas in recent years, the light blues and pinks in stark contrast with the traditional black. In 2016, a Saudi woman was detained for removing her abaya on a main street in the capital of Riyadh. On Thursday, a London-based Saudi rights group, ALQST, reported the detention last month of activist Noha al-Balawi, saying she was questioned by Saudi authorities on her involvement with women's rights and human rights movements.

Source: bd News24 February 10, 2018 11:26 UTC