Saudi Arabia's religious police want to understand why some women choose not to wear the hijab. So, the government is seeking contractors to look into it with a field study.
On Thursday, the >government website advertised for potential hires who will specifically carry out the study to understand the reasons why some women choose not to wear the hijab.
Specifically, the study will look into "uncovered women and women displaying their beauty," >according to Bloomberg.
The advertisement also called for another study that will address why people choose not to pray.
The kingdom's law - which is based on a fundamentalist interpretation of Sharia law - requires that women - both foreign and local - >wear abaya when out in public spaces, and hijab in some areas including Riyadh.
Failing to do so can land one in trouble with the country's religious police and sometimes the local community as well.
The story of Malak Al Shehri is a case in point. In 2016, Al Shehri tweeted a photo of herself wearing a colorful dress under a long dark coat, donning sunglasses and boots while on the streets of Riyadh.
The image began making the rounds online, ultimately going viral. Al Shehri quickly began receiving angry comments that included >multiple death threats.
But, Saudi women have been 'lifting the veil' both literally and metaphorically.
>Saudi Arabian women have long been fighting >against the patriarchy, smashing stereotypes that are often associated with gender roles.
The restrictions Saudi women are faced with make it difficult for them to reach their full potential. But, many are fighting back, >changing the narrative, one example at a time.
Halah al-Hamrani, the kingdom's only female boxing trainer, is a shining example.
As the only known Saudi female kickboxing and boxing trainer in the kingdom, Al-Hamrani challenges stereotypes in the male-dominated world of martial arts.
Born and raised in Jeddah, AL-Hamrani studied Environmental Studies and minored in International Relations in the U.S.
But, she could not find a job in her field upon returning home, so she decided to work in sports, becoming a personal trainer certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
"'Fight Like a Girl' is not supposed to be a negative connotation, instead [it] should be something positive because with training, women can be just as strong as men, you can do it just the way they can and be proud of it too," she once told Arab News.
Laws governing women's lives have been changing, albeit slowly
The kingdom's legal code enforces a >male guardianship system, subjecting women to heavy dependence on their spouse or father/husband. Over the years, the laws governing women's lives have changed.
In 2016 alone, Saudi Arabia >amended a number of laws in an effort to empower women, including opening municipal elections to female candidates and making women's verbal consent to marriage mandatory.
In an effort to modernize the system that same year, Saudi Arabia >passed a new law blocking members of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Hai'a) from arresting suspects or practicing any other form of law enforcement.
Under the new law, the religious police lost the power to "stop people, put reservations on them, chase them, ask for their documents, verify their identities or follow them," subsequently reducing the Hai'a's power significantly.
At the time, former leaders of the commission >expressed optimism in the decision, saying the reduction in power has worked out well.