Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Only Saudi Arabian women can decide on what clothes Saudi Arabian women wear, says crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The viral claim comes amid reports that the kingdom, under the leadership of the prince, is undergoing a transformation, giving up its traditional image by loosening and ushering in a new era of openness and modernity by relaxing strict religious and social controls.
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Fact
Newschecker ran a keyword search for “Saudi Arabia women crown prince”, which did not throw up any recent news reports about the viral quote.
However, we came across this DW report, dated March 19, 2018, headlined, “Saudi prince: Women should decide what to wear”.
According to the report, Prince Mohammed bin Salman says women should choose for themselves whether they want to wear black robes and face coverings. “Although his remarks could signify a big step for women’s rights, there was one catch,” says the report, stating that the Saudi prince’s statement came during an interview with US broadcaster CBS’s show “60 minutes”, aired ahead of his visit to the United States.
“The laws are very clear and stipulated in the laws of Shariah (Islamic law): that women wear decent, respectful clothing, like men,” Prince Mohammed reportedly said in the interview, adding, “This, however, does not particularly specify a black abaya or a black head cover. The decision is entirely left for women to decide what type of decent and respectful attire she chooses to wear.”
“Although Prince Mohammed’s statement appears to signal another opening for women’s rights in the conservative kingdom, the prince’s emphasis on “decent and respectful attire” means women will still not likely be allowed to wear whatever they would like to,” states the report. Similar reports can be seen here and here.
We then looked up CBS’s report on the interview of Prince Mohammed with journalist Norah O’ Donnell, dated March 19, 2018. We saw that the prince’s statement was in a detailed response to O’Donnell’s question on whether women are equal to men in the kingdom and how Saudi Arabia was like before 1979, further confirming that the viral statement was old and shared out of context.
Also Read: Massive Pro-Israel Demonstration in Brazil? Video Of Pro-Bolsonaro Rally Shared With False Claim
Result: Missing Context
Sources
DW report, March 19, 2018
CBS report, March 19, 2018
If you would like us to fact-check a claim, give feedback or lodge a complaint, WhatsApp us at 9999499044 or email us at checkthis@newschecker.in. You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill out the form. Follow our WhatsApp channel for more updates.
Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
