Saudi Arabia: Female fitness centre shut over video showing woman in figure-hugging workout attire
Wednesday, April 25, 2018 IST
Riyadh: Saudi sports authorities shut down a female fitness centre in Riyadh on Friday over a contentious promotional video that appeared to show a woman in figure-hugging workout attire. "We are not going to tolerate this," Saudi sports authority chief Turki al-Sheikh tweeted as he ordered that the centre's license be withdrawn. Sheikh, an adviser to powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also told authorities to investigate and prosecute those behind the video. The video, which was widely circulated on social media but could not be independently verified by AFP, showed a woman with uncovered hair in what appeared to be a gym and kicking a punching bag.
The General Sports Authority said the video contained scenes that could corrupt public morals. Saud al-Qahtani, a media adviser to the royal court, lauded the sports authority's swift response, saying on Twitter that the kingdom was on the path of "moderation without moral breakdown". Women are required to wear body-shrouding abaya robes and also cover their hair in public in parts of the ultra-conservative kingdom, which has some of the world's toughest restrictions on women. Last July, police questioned a woman after she appeared in a series of videos, initially posted to Snapchat, wearing a crop top and a high-waisted miniskirt.
She had been filmed walking through the historic fort of Ushaiqer, north of Riyadh, and playing with sand in the dunes. She was later released without charge. Saudi Arabia, in the midst of a far-reaching liberalisation drive, will allow women to drive from June and recently permitted them to enter sports stadiums for the first time. The government is also seeking to jump-start women's sports and is moving toward compulsory physical education classes for girls, after a ban was lifted in 2014. But the kingdom still requires women to seek permission from a male guardian -- usually a father, husband or brother -- to study, work or travel.
Related Topics
Trending News & Articles
ALMATY: Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China's new indoctrination camps had to disavow the...
Recently posted . 220K views . 1 min read
If you have payed attention to the belly buttons of people on the beach or the members of your family, you have probably noticed that they have different shapes and...
Recently posted . 10K views . 2 min read
The Langya henipavirus has a place with a similar group of infections, including Nipah, which is known to kill up to 3/4 of people in extreme cases.
Recently posted . 6K views . 1 min read
Queen's death: The eldest of her four children, Charles, Prince of Wales, who at 73 was the oldest heir apparent in British history, became king immediately...
Recently posted . 6K views . 1 min read
More in Global
If you want to get more than the standard 5% to 10% annual increment given to most company employees, you will need to take matters into your own hands.
Recently posted. 923 views . 1 min read
While the regulatory hurdles will take some time to clear the way for cryptocurrencies, many global organizations have been found positively commenting on cryptocur...
Recently posted. 1K views . 2 min read
NASA is constantly updating us on any sights of asteroids near our Earth along with their probability of hitting our planet. For instance, just last week, ESA pre...
Recently posted. 1K views . 3 min read
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 3K views
Recently posted . 4K views . 99 min read
Recently posted . 4K views . 52 min read
We celebrated Christmas and then we celebrated New Year… A lot of enthusiasm, a lot of fun, hell lot of resolutions… barrel full of booze, plates full...
Recently posted. 933 views . 3 min read
Setting the world record for real-time imaging speed, the novel camera, called T-CUP, can power a new generation of microscopes for biomedical, materials science,...
Recently posted. 898 views . 1 min read