Female television anchors in Saudi Arabia may soon have to follow a uniform conservative dress code requiring them to cover their heads.
The king’s advisory body, the Shoura Council, is reviewing a proposal from General Commission for Audiovisual Media calling for a conservative dress code for women when appearing in the media, according to Al Arabiya.
Ibrahim Abu Abat, one of the men who wrote the proposal, told the Shoura Council that women should wear a headscarf on air to uphold the kingdom’s standards.
“It is embarrassing to not be the best representation of Islam,” he said.
“Saudi women must appear with their respectable hijab so we can have a Saudi media that truly represents our beliefs and values,” he added.
However, the head of the council’s media committee Ahmad Al-Zilaie said the Shoura is still reviewing the proposal and nothing has been approved yet. He added if the council approves the proposal, the commission will have control over all media channels in Saudi Arabia.
“That may pose as a problem as media must be as diverse as possible and it is a very sensitive matter to have one party direct the media.
“I personally prefer moderation and don’t really have anything to say about the proposal,” he said.
