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Michelle Obama Provokes Saudi Arabians for Failing to Cover Her Hair in Their Kingdom

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In a condolence visit to Saudi Arabia in honour of King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz who died of pneumonia recently, Barrack Obama went with a crop of official personnel including his wife Michelle.
Michelle Obama came under serious criticism from Saudi Arabians for not wearing “hijab.” After all it is said that when you are in Rome, you should behave like Romans.
Women are not allowed to go without veil in the ultra-conservative Islamic country.

Washington Post reported that over 1500 tweets were sent in campaign against the unwelcome gesture.
With Obama were John Kerry, Secretary of State; Condoleezza Rice and James Baker, who served as the leaders of the State Department under Republican presidents.
King Salman took Obama hands in greeting at the stairs of the Air Force One and conducted a red carpet march for the train into the lavishly furnished king’s palace where Obama and his entourage were treated to the best Saudi delicacies.
Many of the Saudi officials shook hands with the first lady while numerous others only gave her a nod; a gesture which the first lady’s facial expression obviously disapproved of.
Michelle Obama was not the only person in the visiting train that did not cover hair. Condoleezza Rice did not also but that of Michelle Obama was picked and criticized by the citizens of Saudi Arabia.
 
C. Rice did not cover her hair also
Elsewhere, it was reported that both Queen of England and Duchess of Cornwall that visited the kingdom in 1979 and 2013 respectively veiled their hairs.
One might argue that it is a kind of protest to women’s enslavement in the country. This is even buttressed the more with the speech given by Obama in India where they set out to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This is not the first time when observing local customs during a state visit had ruffled feathers in the Washington.
A writer described Obama’s act of bowing before the Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo during a state visit as “treasonous.”
King Salman and President Obama in the reception party discussed pressing political and economic problems of the Middle East; including the ISIS.
Saudi Arabia is a strong US ally in the Middle East; a relationship which the emergent King Salman had indicated interest to uphold.
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