First lady Michelle Obama's decision not to wear a headscarf or veil in Saudi Arabia stole away much of the attention from President Barack Obama on Tuesday, sparking a controversial debate on social media.
Upon arriving in Saudi Arabia's capital for a four-hour condolence visit to the late King Abdullah, Michelle stepped off of Air Force One wearing conservatively long pants and a long, brightly colored jacket, but no headscarf, The Telegraph reported.
Under the kingdom's strict dress code for women, Saudi females are required to wear a headscarf and loose, black robes in public, with a majority of women choosing to cover their face with a veil known as the niqaab.
However since exceptions are known to be made for foreigners, Michelle was joined by Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state, and other foreign female guests who were also not wearing headscarves, according to photographs from the official event.
As a delegation of dozens of Saudi officials, all men, greeted the Obamas in Riyadh on Tuesday, some shook hands with Michelle while others acknowledged the first lady with a nod as they passed by.
But still, hundreds of Saudis took to the social media to express their disapproval of her decision not to observe Saudi customs, with hashtags such as "#Michelle_Obama_Immodest" and "#Michelle_Obama_NotVeiled" trending on Twitter.
While some pointed out that the First Lady had worn a headscarf on a visit to Indonesia in 2010, others cited the Queen and the Duchess of Cornwall as having sported headscarves during their visits to the Gulf, according to the Washington Post.
However all the responses were not negative, with Ahram Online noting that some Twitter users said Michelle shouldn't be criticized too much since it was a short, impromptu trip.
Additionally, others pointed out that the country did not require for foreign visitors to abide by the dress code.
In similar fashion, neither Hillary Clinton nor Laura Bush opted to cover their heads on visits to Saudi Arabia in 2011 and 2006 respectively.
Meanwhile, Michelle's office did not comment on her attire, the Associated Press reported.
