DOHA: A social media campaign waged by some in the Qatari community against the mushrooming massage centres in the country want authorities to tighten screws on them.
Campaigners say the centres are encouraging immoral activities and threatening Qatari social values and traditions.
Tweeters seem particularly upset with some hotels that have centres that offer body massage for men and women.
“We want a crackdown even on beauty salons and Moroccan sauna facilities some hotels have. They need strict monitoring,” said a tweeter.
Services these centres offer are alien to society, according to tweeters. The campaigners say licences should only be given for medical massage centres to physicians who are qualified to manage such facilities.
“Barring medical massage centres operated by medical professionals, no such centre should be permitted on our soil,” said a woman tweeter. “Even some clubs offering massage services should be banned.”
“They are hubs of immoral activities so they must be removed and their operators punished,” said a tweeter who identified himself as Jassem.
Another tweeter giving his name as Nasser said he was in for a rude shock when his daughter asked him why a particular local daily carried an advertisement of a massage facility.
Some centres publicly advertise that they have services for men and women. At least one announces on its website its services are available for men and women from 3pm until midnight daily.
The Peninsula
