Abaya not a necessary attire for Saudi women, says cleric

While not necessarily signalling a change in the law, the statement is the first of its kind from a senior religious figure.- Alamy Image

 Saudi women need not wear the abaya - the loose-fitting, full-length robes - a senior member of the top Muslim clerical body said.
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 per cent of pious Muslim women in the Muslim world do not wear abayas," Sheikh Mutlaq said on Friday. "So we should not force people to wear abayas."
While not necessarily signalling a change in the law, the statement is the first of its kind from a senior religious figure. It follows the recent pattern of freedoms the Kingdom has been witnessing with the ascent of young Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to power.
Only the government-appointed clerics associated with the Council of Senior Scholars are allowed to issue fatwas (Islamic legal opinions). Their interpretations of Shariah form the basis of Saudi Arabia's legal system.
Saudi women have started wearing more colorful abayas in recent years.  Open abayas over long skirts or jeans are also becoming more common in some parts of the country.  In 2016, a Saudi woman was detained for removing her abaya on a main street in the capital of Riyadh. 
Local media reported that she was detained after a complaint was filed with the religious police. The Kingdom has seen an expansion in women's rights recently, such as the decision passed to allow women to attend mixed public sporting events and the announcement that Saudi Arabia would grant them the right to drive.