Backlash Against Saudi Women in Tight Leggings at Mixed Gender Workout for Calling Niqabis "Ninjas"

A video of young men and women exercising together in a public square in Saudi Arabia has sparked widespread controversy on Saudi social media.

In the video, a group of young men and women dressed in sporty clothing are taking part in an exercise session led by a female trainer.

One trainee documented the workout in Jeddah using her camera phone, according to a large number of tweets on Twitter, where the video was circulated massively. The trainee later directs the camera toward two niqabi women who were standing nearby, referring to them as ‘ninjas,’ sparking huge backlash.

Translation: “This behavior violates public decency and morality. This is a public place and not a sports club, and there are specialized sports halls for this. The harassment by the trainee who called the veiled women ninjas is unacceptable and she deserves to be punished.” 

Saudi society is generally not accepting of activities that mix between the two sexes, especially that the women in the video were wearing, by the country's standards, revealing attire.

Comments were split between supporters of the sports initiative, arguing that it could encourage others to go out in public and exercise, and others deemed the incident contrary to the customs and traditions of the conservative Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

Translation: “I do not object to the team's exercise in a public arena, but it was inappropriate of the trainee to harass the veiled women. Her harassment reflects her upbringing, but working out in a public place should be available to all.”

Translation: “We wish to impose a severe punishment on those who exceed the limits of Islamic morals and ethics by attacking the veil."

Translation: “These people do not represent Saudi’s traditions and morals in any way. They should be persecuted for misrepresenting our ethics and tradition.”

There has been no official comment on the video debate so far. Saudi Arabia has been relaxing restrictions on women's participation in public life over the past two years, but since September, the kingdom has introduced a ban on ‘indecent clothing’, offensive language and harassment in public.