A Saudi Arabian TV channel is fielding complaints from viewers after a female anchor appeared on a news program without covering her head. 
 
 The unnamed journalist has previously anchored on the state-run Al Ekhbariya channel while wearing a hijab, but in a recent broadcast, her long black hair hung loosely around her shoulders while she read the day’s news. 
 
 The appearance sparked outrage on social networks in the conservative Islamic country, the Independent reports, with some condemning the break from traditions. 
 
 Saleh Al Mughailif, a representative for Saudi radio and television, explained that the news anchor was speaking from a studio in London. 
 
 “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. 
 
 The spokesman said that the station will take measures to ensure that the incident isn’t repeated. 
 
 Citizens of Saudi Arabia are expected to follow the state’s strict interpretation of Islamic law, which requires women to dress modestly with hijabs or the niqab, a full veil. 
 
 Ten years ago, Al Ekhbariya became the first Saudi channel to use female anchors. 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. 
 
 Human rights groups have long condemned Saudi Arabia’s record on women’s rights. Women are banned from driving and need the approval of a male guardian to travel abroad, get a higher education degree, or to undergo certain medical treatments. 
 
 But things are getting better. The government’s labor ministry is encouraging more women to start working in the private sector. In January, Saudi’s King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz appointed 30 women to his previously all-male Shura Council, Al Jazeera reports. 
 
 ON A MOBILE DEVICE? CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO. ||||| An unveiled anchor appears on Saudi state TV, causing controversy in the kingdom. Credit: YouTube 
 
 Dubai: A Saudi television official has moved to end a growing controversy caused by the appearance of an unveiled anchorwoman during a news broadcast on state television. 
 
 “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. 
 
 Watch the clip below. 
 
 Saleh Al Mughailif added that all measures would be taken to ensure there is no repeat of the incident. 
 
 Social networks in the Saudi kingdom largely commented on the unprecedented sight of an unveiled woman reading the news on Saudi national television. 
 
 While several comments condemned the transgression of deep-anchored traditions that reflect the character of Saudi society, others said that the issue should not be overblown and that women without head veils often appeared on television, although not to read the news. 
 
 ‘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. 
 
 Saudi state television often airs foreign programmes and television shows featuring unveiled women. Women in live programming and those appearing in in-house content do however wear the hijab. 
 
 The hijab is more strictly enforced in some parts of the kingdom than others. The coastal city of Jeddah is known to be less rigid than the capital Riyadh in its social norms and the wearing of the veil, which the religious police are tasked with enforcing. 
 
 Multi-billionaire Saudi Prince and businessman Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal does not enforce the hijab in the offices of his Kingdom Holding business empire. It is reportedly one of the few places in the kingdom where women roam freely without the veil.
– 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.)