Kuwait feminists hold protest after row over cancelled yoga retreat - in pictures

The Kuwaiti government has cancelled a women’s yoga retreat amid disagreements over women’s freedoms

Women might be progressing across part of the Arab world, but in Kuwait, the guardians of conservative morals have increasingly cracked down on their rights in recent months, prompting activists to take to the streets last week. All photos: AP Photo

When an instructor in Kuwait this month advertised a desert wellness yoga retreat, conservatives declared it an assault on Islam. Lawmakers and clerics thundered about the 'danger' and depravity of women doing the lotus position and downward dog in public, and persuaded authorities to ban it.

Women's rights activist Najeeba Hayat poses for a portrait in Kuwait City, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. Women might be progressing across the Arab world, but in Kuwait, the guardians of conservative morals have increasingly cracked down on their rights in recent months, prompting activists to take to the streets last week. (AP Photo / Maya Alleruzzo)

Hamdan Al Azmi, a conservative, has led the tirade against yoga, accusing outsiders of trampling on Arab heritage and bemoaning the aerobic exercise as a cultural travesty. “If defending the daughters of Kuwaitis is backward, I am honoured to be called it,” he said.

Some attribute the conservative backlash to a sense of panic that society is changing.

Activists in recent months have struggled to sustain the momentum as they themselves have faced rape and death threats. Hayat has little faith in the government to change anything for Kuwait’s women.

More from The National:

Bullfighting tradition lives on in Fujairah - in pictures

Falcons get treated in Qatar's special hospital for birds of prey - in pictures

Runners and pets race together in Hatta cross-country event - in pictures

Going Green: Saudi Arabia to plant 250,000 drought-resistant trees

Sharjah Light Festival 2022: 'Echoes of the Future' – in pictures