Mike Levin: “Mr. President, I strongly support the amendment of the Senator from New Hampshire to prohibit the requirement or the…”

“Mr. President, I strongly support the amendment of the Senator from New Hampshire to prohibit the requirement or the encouragement that our female service members serving in Saudi Arabia wear an abaya when they leave their military bases. From 1991 until January 2002, U.S. military authorities required female service members leaving military bases in Saudi Arabia to wear the abaya, a traditional religious garment for Saudi women. The rationale for this policy was force protection, respect for host nation customs, and preventing conflicts with the Saudi religious police. This issue came to a head in December 2001, when Lt. Col. Martha McSally, an Air Force pilot stationed at Prince Bandar air base, initiated a lawsuit against DoD seeking a court order declaring the policy unconstitutional. In January 2002, the military announced a change in the uniform policy, making wearing of the abaya 'not mandatory, but strongly encouraged.' Lt. Col. McSally claimed this was insufficient and did little to change de facto pressure on military service women to conform to the old policy.”