Michelle and Barack Obama visited Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to pay their respects following the death of King Abdullah
Saudi Arabia imposes a strict interpretation of Islamic law, forbidding women to work or travel without the authorisation of their male guardians.
It is also the only country in the world that bans women from driving, and a woman cannot obtain an identification card without the consent of her guardian. Floggings and death sentences are also commonplace.
Mrs Obama was pictured grimacing several times during the four-hour visit, which saw some members of the all-male Saudi delegation shake her hand, while others simply nodded at her as they passed by.
Mrs Obama chose not to cover her head during the visit, which is often standard for Western women visiting the kingdom, though forbidden for Saudi women
Earlier that day, her husband had spoken at length about the importance of women's rights during an address in India, setting up a jarring contrast with his warm embrace of Saudi Arabia.
On Twitter, some used hashtags to criticize Mrs Obama for being disrespectful of Saudi traditions, translating as #Michelle_Obama_Immodest and #Michelle_Obama_NotVeiled, Politico reports.
It was noted some of the all-male Saudi delegation chose not to shake Mrs Obama's hand
It had been reported that a Saudi television station had blurred Mrs Obama’s face in footage of the meeting, but that has been denied by Saudi officials, Bloomberg View reports.
Some social media users posted screenshots apparently showing the First Lady obscured, though others reported seeing the same meeting without the pixellation.
Obama, like his recent predecessors, defended his willingness to forge close ties with the kingdom despite its array of human rights issues.
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