Asians banned from public areas

[qatar]

Police officers physically barred workers from entering souqs and the Corniche on Friday, citing that it was "family day." Normally Doha maintains the polite fiction that "family day" at a mall means that no single men are allowed, but one policeman interviewed was more forthright: "Every Friday we come here to stop the labourers accessing this

Comments

[aristopheles]

As a single male of whatever color I'm not real enamoured of this "family day" concept.
Is there any particular rationale given to the idea of "no single men today", or is the pretext too flimsy to even go into it?

[qatar]

I've never heard a good rationale. I understand women-only events, because then women can take their abayas off -- but FAMILY events means married men are present, so it's not like the women can let their hair down, so to speak.

Judging from enforcement, "family day" has always meant "no laborers" -- they've just usually framed it in sexist rather than racist terms, which are marginally more socially acceptable here.