A female student in Riyadh was kicked off a university bus because she unveiled her face, Arabic daily Al Hayat has reported.
The incident was reportedly recorded by another student on the bus, which was all-female other than the driver and supervisor, and posted on YouTube.
It shows a male supervisor demanding the bus driver to stop and ordering students to give up the identity of the girl who revealed her face.
He then tells the bus driver to turn off the air conditioner so the heat – above 40 degrees Celsius – would force the students to reveal the girl’s identity, Al Hayat said.
The students reportedly argue that the veil is not mandatory in Islam.
The supervisor retaliates by threatening to ask the Minister of Education to expel the students, who all attend Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University for Women in Riyadh.
One students told Al Hayat she always unveiled her face inside the bus because the windows were tinted so noone from outside could see them.
“My three friends and I always unveil our faces inside the bus. We even sit at the very back so even the driver can’t see us,” she was quoted as saying.
“The supervisor spotted one of us without her face veil and went ballistic, yelling it is against the university’s regulations.”
The student who took the video claimed the students were “shocked”.
The university’s code of conduct dictates students must wear appropriate dress but does not oblige them to veil their faces, Al Hayat said.
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