Female German minister REFUSES to wear a hijab during visit to Saudi Arabia, days after Angela Merkel calls for a burka ban

Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen (pictured left with Saudi Assistant Defence Minister Mohammad Bin Abdullah Al-Ayesh, and right with Saudi Vice Regent Mohammad bin Salman Al-Saud) said women should have the same right to choose their clothing as men. She shunned traditional Saudi attire, opting instead for a dark blue suit. But she was heavily criticised in Saudi Arabia for not wearing traditional clothing, with calls mounted for her to be arrested. Her stand came a week after Angela Merkel called for the burka to be banned in Germany. She followed the lead of US First Lady Michelle Obama, who sparked outrage in the deeply-conservative country by not covering her head when she visited with her husband last year, and the Duchess of Cornwall (inset), who did not wear an abaya when she visited in 2013 - but as she is a Royal, she is not required to under Saudi law. Explaining her defiance, von der Leyen said: 'The right to choose your own clothing is a right shared by men and women alike. It annoys me, when women are to pushed into wearing the abaya.'