Dozens of Kuwaiti women on Monday staged a protest against the suspension of a women’s yoga retreat deemed “indecent” by conservatives — a move that sparked controversy in the small emirate.
Event organizer Eman al-Husseinan announced the suspension of the retreat on Thursday, saying that the authorities had not approved her permit application, a day after Kuwaiti lawmaker Hamdan al-Azmi wrote on Twitter that the retreat was “dangerous.”
“This is not about sports, although that is important,” said women’s rights advocate and university professor Ibtihal al-Khatib, who attended the demonstration in Kuwait City’s Erada Square, in front of the parliament building.
Photo: AFP
“The important point is that if we give in, we will see much more regression,” she said.
Unlike most Persian Gulf countries, Kuwait is known to have an active political scene, with lawmakers regularly challenging the ruling authorities.
Women in the square carried placards denouncing the “exploitation of women’s issues” by parliament and government, and rejecting the “regime of fatwas,” or religious edicts, and the “guardianship of women.”
Women’s rights advocate Hadeel Buqrais said: “What we want the government and lawmakers to understand is that we do not accept the exploitation of women’s issues and their freedoms for the settlement of political scores.”
In a video posted on social media, the event’s organizer decried a smear campaign in the media.
In his post on Twitter, al-Azmi had called on the Kuwaiti Ministry of the Interior to put an end to “practices that are alien to our conservative society.”
Although several Kuwaiti women have previously held government posts and legislative seats, women failed to win any seats in elections to the last legislature, which is dominated by the Islamist opposition.
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