Aside from British Midland Airways, which required its female employees to wear the Abaya when flying to Saudi Arabia, another Western organization that had previously required its staff to wear traditional clothes was the US military. Under a 1991 Defense Department policy between the United States and Saudi Arabia, female US service personnel were forced to put on Abaya when they were in the Arab country. This was later challenged in 2001 and overturned in 2002 when Air Force Col. Martha McSally challenged the policy.

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