Friday is their one day off (Friday / Saturday is the weekend here), and most of them don't have a lot of money to spend, but they do want to spend it somewhere pleasant (and cool). They remind me of American teenagers spending their time after school hanging out at the mall.
But now, these men are being banned from all the major shopping malls in Doha on Friday. Friday has been turned into "Family Day" - no single men allowed.
I hear the arguments
- these are commercial establishments not government sponsored entertainment facilities, so they can choose who to let in
- how is it different from a bouncer at a nightclub not letting certain people in
- families feel more comfortable if there are not a lot of single men milling around
- these men don't spend any money anyway
but to me they just aren't sufficient arguments to restrict such a large segment of society here on their one day off.
Surely if an individual or group of individuals are causing problems, they should be dealt with. Store / restaurant managers can get someone to move along if they are outstaying their welcome and obstructing actual clients. But to essentially brand someone as "undesirable" because they are single, poor and male just doesn't bode well with my sense of fairness.
Most of these guys toil away in extreme heat building things for the rest of us to use and enjoy, do we really need to restrict the small comforts of spending one afternoon a week in a nice, clean, air-conditioned environment!
This is getting some press - but not enough to change anything - click on photo to read article.
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