Saudi Gazette report

LATELY, newspapers have reported a few acts that violate public decency and contradict the values of social traditions and customs, Al-Riyadh daily reported.

One of the acts was of a married couple walking down the Jeddah corniche with the wife in her wedding gown while people cheered them on. Another act was of a young man and woman dancing on a street pavement in Abha. A third act was of a young man, who captured the injured victims of horrific accidents on the video and shared the video with its graphic content on social media websites.

According to the Public Decency Protection draft law, there are 11 violations that are punishable by three-month imprisonment or SR300 minimum fine and SR3,000 as maximum, or both penalties. The gravest violations include bullying, use of obscene language, racist language or acts, swearing words, harassment for fun or mockery, disrespect for the physically challenged, the elderly, women and children, disturbing public noise, etc.

The draft law has identified more than 40 violations divided into four categories and vary in penalty and fine. For public facilities and roads, violations include sitting in places allocated for the physically challenged, defacing public property with inscribed materials or spray cans, littering, putting advertising material on walls in public places, to mention but a few.

Omar Fallatah, lawyer, says the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet’s Sayings urge Muslims not to engage in any activities that might violate community standards for decency and infringe upon the rights of others.

“Authorities should draft a law with clear-cut description of violations and fines so that the general public can be aware of the violations,” he said.

Anas Ashour, family counselor, blames social media websites for the indecent acts some people engage in publicly. Today, youth want to capture every moment of their life on camera and post the video on social media websites. They do not care if the video violates the standards of public modesty.

“We need a strict law that protects our Islamic beliefs and acceptable social traditions and customs. The law should put an end to reckless activities of youth,” he said, noting that young men and women who post videos of showing them violating public standards subject themselves to legal penalties in line with the Cybercrime Law without knowing it.

Members of the public should also act to raise awareness about such violations so that everyone understands the gravity and legal consequences of indecent acts. Awareness campaigns targeting youth should be launched. Youth should be aware that very loud parties, putting improper stickers on vehicles, harming an animal are punishable by law.

Bayan Zahran, a female lawyer, agreed that law should clearly define the acts that violate public decency standards and norms. Public morals and decency can differ in terms of concept; in other words, people might view the concept from different perspective — there is no one common understanding of what a public decent act is. “That’s why there is a need for codified laws to specify the standards while also stressing the gravity of penalty for their actions, if still persisted after the caution.”