- Saudi women with attractive eyes may be forced to cover even them up, if the resolution is passed
- Islamic state fears effect of 'tempting' eyes on men
- Says it 'has the right' to issue repressive edict
- Women must already cover their hair and wear full-length black cloaks
The ultra-conservative Islamic
state has said it has the right to stop women
revealing 'tempting' eyes in public.
A spokesperson for Saudi Arabia's Committee for the
Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, Sheikh Motlab al Nabet, said a
proposal to enshrine the measure in law has been tabled.
Women in Saudi Arabia already have to wear a long black cloak, called an abaya, cover their hair and, in some regions, conceal their faces while in public.
If they do not, they face punishments including fines and
public floggings. One report on the Bikya Masr news website suggested the
proposal was made after a member of the committee was attracted by a woman’s
eyes as he walked along a street, provoking a fight.
The woman was walking with her husband who ended up being stabbed twice in the hand after the altercation.
The virtue and vice committee has repeatedly been accused
of human rights violations.
Founded in 1940, its function is to ensure Islamic laws are
not broken in public in Saudi Arabia.
In 2002, the committee refused to allow female students out
of a burning school in the holy city of Mecca because they were not wearing
correct head cover.
The decision is thought to have contributed to the high death
toll of 15. They are also banned from driving by religious edict and
cannot travel without authorization from their male guardians.
In September, a Saudi women sentenced to 10 lashes for defying the
driving ban was only spared when King Abdullah stepped in to stop the public
flogging.
Also in September, the king announced that women would be
given the right to vote for the first time and run in the country's 2015 local
elections.
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