President Barrack Obama cut short his state visit to India by dropping at Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to pay respect to the late King Abdullah. This is to further cement the traditional ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia as allies. However, Michelle Obama on the other hand sparked public outrage by not wearing a head scarf.
A woman not wearing a veil or at least a headscarf is rare in conservative Saudi Arabia. Even the Queen of England wears a headgear when visiting Saudi Arabia. Could this break of protocol or another faux pas by the American First Lady? During the Obama’s visit to Buckingham Palace a few years ago, Michelle also breached protocol by putting her hand on the Queen’s shoulder.
The Saudi public took to Twitter to express their outrage towards the first lady for not respecting the host’s protocol. A record 1,500 tweets on this was recorded on Tuesday alone. Some pointed out that when the First couple recently visited Indonesia, Michelle wore a headscarf and questioned why she did not wear one in Saudi Arabia.
واشناراه وادويشاه #ميشيل_أوباما_سفور في بلد التوحيد وفي أندونيسيا بحجابها الله أكبر والعزةلله @mshanarm @s_a_aldweesh pic.twitter.com/KvGTO2hgG9
— نورة العتيبي (@Riyadh_K_S_A) January 27, 2015
