( CNN ) -- Saudi Arabia is often touted as among the most conservative places in the world , with women forbidden even to drive . But in terms of attitude toward women 's freedom of choice in clothing , it 's significantly more freethinking than some of its neighbors , a survey of seven Muslim-majority countries suggests . Nearly two out of three people in Saudi Arabia believe women should keep everything but their eyes covered when they are in a public place -- but at the same time , nearly half say it is up to a woman to dress however she wants . That puts it on a level with socially liberal Lebanon , and ranks it as far less conservative than Iraq , Pakistan or Egypt . `` Saudi Arabia is not as conservative as it appears . Definitely on some level there is a considerable liberal leaning , '' said Mansoor Moaddel , the lead author of the study . That could be partly a reaction to the conservative leadership , he said . `` Saudi has had a religious government for a long time . People tend to develop an oppositional attitude , '' he argued . The findings come from a report published by the Middle Eastern Values Study of the University of Michigan 's Population Studies Center . It suggests Egypt is , in terms of gender relations , the most conservative country in the study by some distance . Only 14 % of Egyptians believe women should be allowed to choose how they dress , the lowest level in the survey . Egyptians are also the most likely to say that a woman should be required to obey her husband -- only one Egyptian in 20 disagreed . Moaddel does not link Egyptian conservatism to religion . `` Egyptians have become more sexist in the past decade . They have become less religious , less supportive of Sharia ( Islamic law ) , but on the issue of gender , more conservative , '' he said . `` The problem with Egypt is not just religion , it is an intellectual trend . It is hard to say what caused the Egyptians to become less supportive of gender equality , '' he said , but suggested it could be due to general social turmoil . `` When there is a high level of social insecurity , people tend to fall back on traditional values , '' he said . His study is primarily an investigation of social attitudes in Tunisia , which the report labels the birthplace of the Arab Spring , toward a wide variety of subjects including political engagement , national identity , secularism and violence against Americans . But it delves into comparisons between Tunisia and six other countries : Saudia Arabia , Egypt , Turkey , Lebanon , Iraq and Pakistan . In one of the survey 's most striking questions , researchers showed people pictures of women with six different types of head covering , ranging from the full-body burqa to no covering at all . They asked people to say which was the most appropriate way for women to dress in public . Across the seven countries , the most popular answer was a tight-fitting white scarf that completely covered the hair and ears but showed the entire face -- a type of hijab . Just over half of Egyptians chose that option , as did well over half -- 57 % -- in Tunisia , and just under half in Iraq and Turkey . But there were significant differences from country to country . Lebanon was the most liberal , with nearly half ( 49 % ) of respondents saying women should not wear any head covering at all , and another 12 % opting for a loosely-fitting headscarf that showed some hair . At the same time , only 49 % said it should be up to a woman to choose how she dresses . Turkey , which for decades banned women from wearing headscarves in public and is now in the middle of a controversy over the subject , was arguably the next most liberal country after Lebanon . One in three ( 32 % ) said a woman should not wear any head covering , while another 17 % chose the loose headscarf . Just over half ( 52 % ) of Turks said a woman should be allowed to choose how she dresses . Saudi Arabia was the most conservative in terms of personal opinion , with about two out of three people ( 63 % ) saying a woman should wear a niqab , covering the entire head and face , showing only the eyes . Another 11 % picked the full burqa , showing nothing at all of a woman 's head and including a mesh over the face . And yet Saudi Arabia fell in the middle of the pack in terms of whether women should be allowed to choose what they wear , with 47 % supporting it . Only Saudi Arabia had more than token support for the burqa , with just 4 % supporting it in Iraq , 3 % backing it in Pakistan , and numbers even lower in the other countries . Surveys were carried out between January 2011 and June 2013 for the study , `` The Birthplace of the Arab Spring : Values and Perceptions of the Tunisian Public in a Comparative Perspective . '' The study was based on interviews with 2,005 people in Saudi Arabia and at least 3,000 in each of the other countries . The report , published in December , did not say what the margins of error were . The seven countries include several but not all of the most populous countries in the broader Middle East , from North Africa to South Asia . .
A tight - fitting scarf is the most appropriate thing for a woman to wear , Middle Easterners say . Nearly all of them say a woman should be allowed to choose what she wears . Saudi is the most conservative country in the region by some estimates . The findings come from a survey of Muslim countries across the Middle East .