Universities in the conservative Muslim kingdom have been
ordered to ban students sporting emo clothing and hairstyles, after an official
investigation concluded that this subculture is "improper and
deviant," reported the newspaper Al Sharq.
The paper added that female students dressed in boyish styles
were to be barred too.
The phenomenon of emo – short for emotional – began as a style
of music characterised by expressive lyrics in the mid-1980s. The trend is
characterized by skinny black jeans, radical hairdos and sometimes-heavy make
up.
The country's morality police have been told to be on the
lookout for emos and tomboys in public places, according to the report. Several
Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia,
have seen the phenomenon at some point.
Emo fashion-followers have been arrested and condemned as
"disciples of Satan" or as homosexuals in some Middle Eastern countries.