“She was a correspondent reading the news from a studio in Britain,” Saleh Al Mughailif, the spokesperson for the Saudi radio and television, said, referring to the woman’s appearance on Al Ekhbariya news channel. “She was not in a studio inside Saudi Arabia and we do not tolerate any transgression of our values and the country’s systems,” he said, quoted by Al Tawasul news site. Saleh Al Mughailif added that all measures would be taken to ensure there is no repeat of the incident. ‘Test’ 
 
 Hafez, a blogger, said that the unveiled anchorwoman was “a test to gauge people’s reactions to the sight of women without head covers on Saudi national television news.” 
 
 Saudi society has been divided over the possibility of granting women more rights, including the right to drive cars. A decision by King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to appoint 30 women to the Shura Council has become a landmark in the status of women in the country while a labour ministry decision to encourage more women to take up jobs in the private sector, especially in retail shops, has overcome stiff resistance from conservative forces. According to Gulf News, unveiled women are a common sight on Saudi television — but only on foreign programming. Women usually wear a head covering when they are featured in live shows on state-controlled media.
– An unidentified journalist recently broke from Saudi tradition when she read the news on a Saudi TV channel called Al Ekhbariya without covering her face with a hijab, leading some conservative viewers to take to social media to condemn the station for the "transgression." Saudi radio and TV spokesperson Saleh Al Mughailif tells the Al Tawasul news site via Gulf News that the woman was reading from a studio in Britain, and adds, "She was not in a studio inside Saudi Arabia, and we do not tolerate any transgression of our values and the country's systems." The country is in a state of transition, with positions on women's rights starkly divided, reports Gulf News. King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz appointed 30 women to the Shura Council in 2013, and the labor ministry recently suggested more women work in the private sector, such as in retail. Women appearing on TV news channels is fairly new, while women appearing uncovered reading the news on state TV is unheard of. Women aren't allowed to drive and need a male guardian's approval to travel outside of the country, access certain medical treatments, or get a higher education, reports the New York Daily News. The Saudi spokesman says the incident will not happen again. (One Saudi teen wore a hijab while competing in the Olympics in 2012; her father threatened not to let her compete if she didn't.)