King Abdullah has told Saudi editors
to stop publishing pictures of women as they could make young men go
astray, newspapers reported Tuesday.
The king's directive, made in a
meeting with local editors, caused surprise as the monarch has been
regarded a quiet reformer since he took office in the
ultra-conservative country last August.
In recent months, newspapers have
published pictures of women, always wearing the traditional Muslim
headscarf, to illustrate stories with increasing regularity. Usually
the stories have had to do with women's issues. The papers have also
started publishing a range of views on causes that are not generally
accepted in Saudi Arabia, such as women having the right to drive and
vote.
The king told editors on Monday
night that publishing a woman's picture for the world to see was
inappropriate.
"One must think: do they want their
daughter, their sister, or their wife to appear in this way. Of
course, no one would accept this," the newspaper Okaz quoted Abdullah
as saying.
"The youth are driven by emotion
... and sometimes they can be led astray. So, please, try to cut down
on this," he said.