Manama: A lawmaker in Kuwait said that no Kuwait citizen should be allowed to participate in any form in art performances that are depraved, immoral or contrary to public order.
MP Mohammad Al Hayef said in the proposal he presented to the parliament that the ban extends to visual, audio or print works by Kuwaitis in other countries.
Offenders should be sent to prison for a minimum of three years and ordered to pay fines varying between KD5,000 (Dh60,885) and 10,000, he said, Kuwaiti daily Al Wasat reported on Thursday.
The prison term and or the fine should also be applied to Kuwaiti companies in addition to the revocation of their licences, he added.
All public media and private newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations and websites in Kuwait should refrain from publishing, posting, broadcasting, distributing or contributing to the production of any depraved or immoral work, the lawmaker, known for his conservative tendencies, said.
In the explanatory note, Al Hayef said the bill was based on the fact that the Islamic sharia encourages ethical conduct and provides the families and society with the necessary safeguards and care in order to protect them from vice and corruption and to this end it urges them to commit to virtue and morality.
Kuwait had one of the most vivacious cultural lives in the Arab world and the most avant garde in the Arabian Gulf and its numerous plays and TV series and comedies earned the country an outstanding reputation.
However, the art movement was badly hit in the 1980s due to the development of social conservatism, overall neglect and the tense situation with Iraq that degenerated into an invasion by the Iraqi army in August 1990.
Now, the situation is improving and the country is witnessing a gradual revival of the cultural movement that should give young artists a new impetus to display their creativity.
In 2016, the government opened the Shaikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre, the first of its kind, to serve as the city’s top entertainment destination and to foster emerging talents across music, dance and art. The centre is also used for international performances.
