This past weekend there was a lot of drama surrounding a women’s only yoga trip to the desert that was banned for being a danger to society. The irony is that last week Saudi Arabia held their first yoga festival (pictured above) which attracted over 1,000 people.
Do you remember the days when things got really bad here we’d think “at least we’re not in Saudi”? Do you think Saudis now think “at least we’re not in Kuwait” when they go through a rough patch?
One thing I’m really appreciating though is how vocal everyone is on social media whenever they see something wrong. When I first started blogging, there was no Instagram, there was no Snapchat and there was no Twitter. There weren’t that many blogs either and so I always felt that it was my job to bring to light issues which brought on a lot of hate from readers who felt because I wasn’t Kuwaiti, I had no say in anything. But now, because of the popularity of social media, I no longer have to carry that burden on my shoulders.
21 replies on “Ban of the Week: Yoga”
the funny part is that the mp thought yoga was a type of dance, he doesnt even what he wants to ban
KSA shade….never thought i’d see the day but honestly, good for them
How is a womens-only yoga trip dangerous to society?
It’s a threat to c̶o̶n̶s̶e̶r̶v̶a̶t̶i̶v̶e̶ p̶r̶i̶n̶c̶i̶p̶l̶e̶s̶ sexism.
No idea, and they picked to ban the most conservative looking yoga event I’ve come across in Kuwait https://instagram.com/eman_yoga
Anyone up for men-only yoga?
When I first read it, I thought they meant they were worried for the safety of the WOMEN out in the desert (you know, from gawking, inappropriate guys taking pics or cat-calling or what have you). It was only after I reread it that I realized he is saying that women doing yoga IS the threat. FFS.
Yoga, the only danger to society is being behind a hot female
Did you get banned yet?
I seem to get banned everywhere including on here LOL
Kuwait First they make the decision by banning something and later on decide to study & review what they did was right or wrong. same thing they did with 60 plus residence renewal process.
there is a serious lack of stuff to do in this country. was just going through your other post on the liberation tower and its all booked! heck, even if it was paid for, a lotta folks would gladly pay for it. though it might be a small source of income for that ministry… existing things that could make money are not monetized and if people try out something new MPs and such throw spanners!
I mean to be fair – Kuwait is ridiculous in its response to Yoga. While there is an open contempt for Indians here, people being racially and societally segragated – and lets not forget a HUGE slave class – but at the same time feel free to culturally appropriate their practices and bougie it up. Want inner peace? Maybe fight for the expat community that have to watch from the sidelines while their passports are being confiscated as you do a downward f###ing dog after paying a crazy amount.
+1
Couldn’t agree more👍👍
May be the MP watched Bikram yoga documentary on Netflix
Ban of The Week should be a regular segment
seriously, why are you banning this? what is there fun things to do in Kuwait now? it used to be fun when there was game tournaments and anime and game festivals, now there isn’t any?
Hmmmm… i dont think you’d be able to criticize Saudi Arabia so openly if you were living there. Sure you can dance at concert there now but only because THEY let you.
The fact we can talk about this to begin with is rare in the middle east.
We have conservatives, liberals, religious, and “open minded” people with differences of opinion. Why is it within the rights of “open minded” people to say they should be allowed to publicly practice yoga and not within the rights of the conservatives to oppose it?
To answer your question: No, Saudis wont be thankful they arent like us.. except for the ones dancing. Those people need to get their priorities straight.
Conservatives have the right to express their distaste and opposition as loudly as they want, but they don’t have the right to shut things down.
Kuwait is getting more and more unlivable for women every second. I wanna move so bad. one day.