With mats rolled tightly under their arms, a group of women walk to a secluded Tripoli beach for a seaside yoga session to escape tensions in conflict-stricken Libya.
Under the watch of a solitary police car, each Thursday the 25 aspiring yogis begin limbering up, their bright gym attire outlined against the crumbling concrete security compound that forms the backdrop to their open-air studio.
“Yoga releases the pressure we live under. Here I can escape reality,” one participant, Mawadda, said before the afternoon class.
Photo: AFP
“Here I feel free,” she said.
Tripoli residents have endured near-constant unrest since a NATO-backed uprising toppled former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
Libya has since been thrown into disarray, with warring armed groups and rival political factions vying for control and the Islamic State group establishing a bastion in the oil-rich north African country.
Thousands of Libyans have fled the unrest, but for those left behind, daily life has been significantly curtailed and frequent clashes in the capital mean it is often too dangerous to exercise outside.
And with a conservative Muslim society implicitly imposing restrictions on how people should dress and behave, Libyan women are especially short of viable pastimes.
Abir Ben Yushah, who operates an exercise studio at her family-owned gym, struck upon the idea of yoga classes after talking to other women.
“We understood that women need hobbies and a change after the war,” she said. “After Zumba courses, Arabic and Indian dance classes, and fitness programs, we decided to start yoga on the beach.”
Eyes narrowed in concentration, the students — hair covered with headscarves, sun hats or baseball caps — closely mimic the poses held by Abir.
Four women sit on nearby rocks, observing and commenting on the class.
A few meters away, the luxurious villas of the Ragata compound once used by Libya’s expatriate oil worker community sit abandoned, some vandalized, like those of Qaddafi’s sons.
For many Libyan women who enjoy Italian fashion and like listening to music, practicing yoga was nothing new.
The novelty, however, was to do it on a beach in broad daylight without upsetting conservative members of the society.
“To be honest, I was a bit scared about the reputation of our club and that people would reproach us for being more free and open than necessary,” Abir said. “I do worry about the reactions of husbands and fathers, but at the same time people need new things and new activities just like the rest of the world.”
Libyan women, like many others in conservative Arab countries, have respect for religious and societal codes, but this has not kept them from adopting the latest trends.
They also enroll in universities, work alongside male colleagues, drive themselves and travel abroad if they can afford it.
“Practicing yoga on the beach is, for us, proof that we want to change our lifestyle,” Mawadda said.
Iman is one of those who has been won over by the yoga class, which she sees as less about breaking social boundaries than keeping body and mind in shape.
“Why should I be worried? Will commandos arrive by sea?” she said. “Let them come! We are all here!”
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