A women’s gym in Riyadh has been closed on orders from the sports authority of Saudi Arabia after the video of a woman exercising in that gym was posted by Kuwaiti social media star, Halema Boland.
The controversial video last week shows a “Tunisian kickboxing champion”, as described by Ms Boland. She is seen working out in leggings and a tank-top, and performing Zumba, a popular Brazilian dance workout.
As per the announcement made by the General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia, the gym’s license had been suspended, and the women seen in the video lost her job as a trainer. This incident has also resulted in legal proceedings against the gym.
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“The gym had its license suspended over a deceitful video that circulated on social media promoting the gym disgracefully and breaching the kingdom’s code of conduct,” the authority’s chairman, Turki Bin Abd Al Mohsen, said in a statement reported in The National.
“The General Sports Authority asserts that it will put an end to such misdemeanours that deem offensive to society. All such irresponsible people will be under pursuit,” he added.
Saudi Arabia has strict laws governing social media, but with one of the region’s highest internet usage rates the regulations are selectively enforced.