‘Rebel’ Saudi women shun obligatory abaya robe

  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Her high heels clacking on marble tiles, a defiant Saudi woman turned heads and drew gasps as she strutted through a Riyadh mall -- without a body-shrouding abaya. The billowy over-garment, usually all-black, is customary public wear for women in the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom, where it is widely seen as a symbol of piety. Last year, de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hinted during an interview with CBS that the dress code may be relaxed, saying the robe was not mandatory in Islam. But despite his sweeping liberalization drive, the practice continued as no formal edict followed. Some women subsequently mounted a rare ...

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