Dozens of women in Kuwait protested in front of parliament on Monday night after the Interior Ministry banned a women's yoga retreat in a move that has sparked controversy in the country.
Kuwaiti yoga instructor and event organiser Eman Al Husseinan announced the ban on Thursday. She later said in a video she was still waiting for an official permit to hold the retreat.
"This is not about sports, although that is important," activist and university professor Ibtihal Al Khatib, who attended the demonstration in Kuwait City's Erada Square, told AFP.
The protest came after a tweet by conservative MP Hamdan Al Azmi warning that allowing a woman's yoga retreat would be "dangerous".
"We stress the Interior Minister [must] move quickly, stop these internal practices and hold those who were granted licenses to account immediately," he said.
"This is a dangerous matter."
Female protesters raised banners saying: "No to the government and parliament's trading in women's issues" and "Kuwait is a civil state and the rule is constitutional, and no to the rule of fatwas".
They shouted slogans saying they rejected the “guardianship of women”.
“Members of parliament are supposed to be the ones who defend the rights of all people, regardless of their gender," women’s rights activist Ibtihal Al Ahmad said.
"A woman’s right is not given by someone’s mood, not by personal preferences but by the constitution itself. Any changes or amendments to an article in the constitution should be focused on granting more rights, not taking them away.”
Kuwaiti lawyer Areej Hamadah, who was at the protest site on Monday night, said conservative MPs may face challenges in the next election after the current parliament’s spate of campaigns seen by women's groups as targeting women’s rights.
“Today I was at the women's gathering from the third district and who voted for the [male MPs], but what I heard today and from very influential women figures, I think it is difficult for them to prepare for the upcoming elections after they failed the women who are shocked by their positions,” Ms Hamadah said.
Earlier last month, Mr Al Azmi led a group of 10 MPs in challenging Kuwait's Defence Minister Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al Ali Al Sabah with a vote of no confidence in parliament, which eventually failed, over his policies, including one to allow Kuwaiti women to enlist in the military.
Speaking in front of parliament, Sheikh Hamad said his decision “did not bring anything new,” as women joining the army “will be limited to working in the medical, administrative and support services units, which are the specialities that women currently work in the Ministry of Defence”.
Although several Kuwaiti women have previously held government posts and parliament seats, women failed to win any seats in the last elections.
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Union Berlin (5.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Hertha Berlin v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Freiburg (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Monchengladbach (8.30pm)
Sunday
Mainz v Augsburg (5.30pm)
Schalke v Bayer Leverkusen (8pm)
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
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69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
