The Saudi woman was going out for breakfast when she decided to make a statement. Violating the country’s moral codes, she reportedly stepped out in public wearing a floral dress, black jacket and ankle boots — but without wearing a hijab or abaya.

Late last month, she tweeted a photo of her outfit, and the post circulated through Saudi Arabia, drawing death threats and demands to imprison or even execute the woman.

On Monday, police in the country’s capital of Riyadh said they had arrested the woman, following their duty to monitor “violations of general morals”, a spokesman, Fawaz al-Maiman said. The woman, who is in her 20s, was imprisoned after she had posted the tweet of herself standing next to a popular Riyadh cafe, he said. He also accused her of “speaking openly about prohibited relations” with unrelated men.

“Riyadh police stress that the action of this woman violates the laws applied in this country,” Maiman said, urging the public to “adhere to the teachings of Islam”.

The spokesman did not name the woman, but a number of websites identified her as Malak al-Shehri, whose tweet drew international support on Twitter and Facebook two weeks ago. Some referred to her as the “Saudi Rosa Parks”, comparing her to the American civil rights activist who was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.

—By arrangement with The Washington Post

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2016