Eleven things women in Saudi Arabia cannot do

Wear clothes or make-up that "show off their beauty"

The dress code for women is governed by a strict interpretation of Islamic law and is enforced to varying degrees across the country.

Saudi Arabia is one of the only Muslim-majority countries that legally imposes a dress code.

The majority of women are forced to wear an abaya – a long black cloak – and a head scarf.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The abaya covers their everyday clothing.

The face does not necessarily need to be covered, "much to the chagrin of some hardliners," says The Economist.

But this does not stop the religious police from harassing women for exposing too much flesh or wearing too much makeup.

The dress code was extended to all female television presenters earlier this year.

The king's advisory body, the Shoura Council, ruled that the women should wear "modest" clothes that do not "show off their beauty", according to Arab News.

Expats are given some leeway, especially in their private residences. Michelle Obama's visited Saudi Arabia in colourful, loose-fitting clothing and no headscarf in 2015.

Click to page 4 to discover other things women in the Muslim kingdom are still unable to do.

• Top Gear Cenotaph Stunt - 'Clarkson Never Had Such Bad Taste'
• House prices: what are the predictions for 2016?
• EU referendum: Brexit could be 'disaster' for UK