Greg Adamski Flashes Anastasiia Koval in 'Abaya' for Vogue Arabia September 2019

Model Anastasiia Koval is styled by Vasil Bozhilov in ‘Abaya’, a reference to the cloak or simple, loose over-garment worn by some women in parts of the Muslim world. Photographer Greg Adamski is behind the lens for Vogue Arabia September 2019./ Hair by Eduardo Bravo; makeup by Toni Malt

It’s reported this morning that 33-year-old Mashael Al-Jaloud walked outside malls in Saudi Arabia yesterday, challenging the government’s position on “not forcing ‘Abaya’ upon Saudi women’.

In a video where she can be seen speaking about what seems to be a social experiment to test the waters, Al-Jaloud said that “there are no clear laws. No clear protection” in Saudi Arabia for women. She claimed that she “maybe at risk because I am not walking with an abaya.” There was however no evidence in the video to suggest that she was at any immediate physical risk and a just-now Google search gives no indication that she was arrested.

Despite her protestations, Al-Jaloud is reported saying that although she is remaining defiant, she is still forced to wear an abaya and headscarf to work or risk losing her job, writes Middle East Monitor.

In April 2019, the Columbia Journalism Review reported on the grave situation, torture and mistreatment for many Saudi dissidents, especially Saudi women involved in the let women drive campaign and beyond. Vogue Arabia celebrates the forward motions for Saudi women, but never comments on arrests or the torture of women activists in the region. AOC has always been committed to writing about these stories, wherever they occur in the world.