Well if you thought women’s bodies couldn’t be policed any further… in Saudi Arabia women can’t have “tempting eyes” showing….
“A new law in Saudi Arabia banning ‘tempting eyes’ has become the latest example of female oppression in the country.
The law states that women with alluring eyes will be forced to wear a full veil… Sheikh Motlab al Nabet, spokesman of the Saudi Arabian Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, said they ‘had the right’ to force women to cover their face.
‘The men of the committee will interfere to force women to cover their eyes, especially the tempting ones,’ he said.‘We have the right to do so.’
Many commentators wondered how the word ‘tempting’ would be applied. One unnamed journalist in the country suggested it referred to ‘uncovered eyes with a nice shape and makeup.’
‘Or even without makeup, if they are beautiful, the woman will be in trouble,’ they added.”
This outrageous mindset is not new. In 2008, I wrote about this story on the blog:
“A Muslim cleric in Saudi Arabia has called on women to wear a full veil, or niqab, that reveals only one eye.
Sheikh Muhammad al-Habadan said showing both eyes encouraged women to use eye make-up to look seductive.”
No law was passed at that time and it is disappointing to see that Saudi Arabia has gone backward and has codified this form of body policing.
