A woman who received death threats after going out without her abaya in Saudi Arabia has been arrested and now faces being lashed.

The woman, who has been identified as Malak Al Shehri, shared a photograph of herself without a hijab or abaya - a traditional body covering - on a street in the capital city of Riyadh.

The ultra-conservative Muslim country enforces a strict dress code for women in public, banned them from driving and prohibits the mixing of sexes.

The Arabic-language al-Sharq newspaper said the woman was detained after a complaint was filed by the religious police.

'Police officers have detained a girl who had removed her abaya on al-Tahliya street, implementing a challenge she announced on social media several days ago,' Colonel Fawaz al-Maiman, a Riyadh police spokesman, was quoted as saying.

The woman, who has been identified as Malak Al Shehri, shared a photograph of herself without a hijab or abaya - a traditional body covering - in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Another Twitter user said that many Saudis are now 'demanding her execution'

The 21-year-old student said the woman had received abuse such as 'Kill her and throw her body to the dogs'

The woman had faced calls to be executed after she was pictured wearing a black jacket over an ankle-length orange and pink dress and boots.

The post had drawn a furious reaction from some Saudis.

One message of abuse reportedly read: 'The least punishment for her is beheading her.'

Another wrote: 'Kill her and throw her body to the dogs', while one said 'we want blood' after the picture went viral.

Following news of her arrest, one Twitter user said: 'We demand utmost punishment, for the state has rules that she did not respect.'

Despite the threats, other social media users have been praising the woman for her bravery

Despite the threats, other social media users praised the woman for her bravery and expressed their support.

One person, posting under the username @MajedAbboud, wrote: 'I'm amazed by the courage and the resilience of Saudi women'.

Farah Aqqad added: 'Its about time to protest against this discriminative abaya prison against women #shout_for_freedom'.

Another wrote: 'Bravest girl on earth...hope she is okay', while one compared her to a modern day Rosa Parks.

All women in Saudi Arabia – local and foreign – are legally required to wear an abaya – which is a traditional full-body covering.

Muslim women must also wear a headscarf – or hijab – but foreigners do not need to.