This Outfit Got a Saudi Woman Imprisoned

A 20-something women in Saudi Arabia is in prison and facing death threats after going out for breakfast with friends without wearing her hijab and abaya, International Business Times reports. According to the Guardian, Malak al-Shehri announced her plan on Twitter a few days in advance, later posting a photo of herself wearing a jacket, dress, and sunglasses. The photo was taken on a main street in the capital of Riyadh, Indian Express reports. Someone filed a complaint with the police, and al-Shehri was arrested.

A police spokesperson says they had to arrest al-Shehri for "violations of general morals." In Saudi Arabia, women are forbidden from appearing in public without a robe and veil. Al-Shehri is also accused of "speaking openly about prohibited relations with ... men." While some on Twitter responded to al-Sherhri's photo with calls for her execution—"Kill her and throw her corpse to the dogs"—others say she is a "modern Rosa Parks." "Just imagine ... people calling for your imprisonment only because you changed your clothing," the Business Times quotes one Twitter user as saying. "Now you know the extent of the oppression against women in Saudi Arabia." Women in Saudi Arabia are also banned from driving and socializing with men to whom they aren't related. (More Saudi Arabia stories.)