Notably, the photographs were taken in a street in a fort at Ushayqir Heritage Village in Najd province. That is the province where the founder of Wahhabism was born. Many of the most violent groups adhere to Sunni extremist views, including Wahhabism, which also support the Saudi denial of basic human rights for women. Saudi Arabia continues to fund mosques around the world teaching Wahhabism, including many associated with extremists.
In these photos, a model called “Khulood” is shown simply walking around the fort without being covered up by the medieval “abaya” required under the Saudi dress code. While many supported the model for her bravery, other Saudis called for her arrest Journalist Khaled Zidan wrote: “The return of the Haia [religious police] here is a must.”
This is how precarious this medieval system remains. A young women in a miniskirt can become a national threat. It not only shows the lunacy of religious orthodoxy but the need to stamp out any expression of independence or individuality lest it should inspire others. What Wahhabism cannot do is allow people to make up their own minds and live their lives according to their own beliefs. The Saudi princes made a deal with the Wahhabi clerics to gain power in exchange for mandating Wahhabi values in the Kingdom . . . and now a woman shows up in a miniskirt.
The sooner they catch her the sooner the Saudi government (with the support of the Trump Administration) can return to fighting religious extremism in Qatar.