Arab News reports, with some disgust, that school authorities in the southern province of Asir, are now requiring young pre-pubescent girls to wear abayas and veils to school. This is a severely retrograde act and not utterly in compliance with Islamic law which requires only ‘modesty’ of women after the age of puberty. Parents are distressed; psychologists discuss the potential harm in such regulations; school authorities say, ‘It’s good preparation’. This is insane.

It’s also an example of the difficulties King Abdullah faces in trying to get Saudis to become realistic and tolerance in their religious observance.

Asir parents in a quandary over ‘full abaya’ for schoolchildren
Hayat Al-Ghamdi | Arab News

KHAMIS MUSHAYT: When an eight- or ten-year-old girl is told that she should cover her entire body from head to toe — as an adult woman is supposed to do — then immediately the child’s mother asks why.

This is exactly what is happening in the southern province of Asir where school regulations stipulate that pre-pubescent girls should dress in such a way that no part of their body, including head and face, is visible.

A child who dares to violate the new dress code faces severe punishment, including a public scolding and deductions from her marks.

This has put parents in a real dilemma. On the one hand, this new dress code is being imposed; on the other, they find it difficult to convince their young daughters that it is necessary for them to be completely veiled.
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