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Sulaimaniyah’s Asian Masseuses Struggle
After Duhok Riots
12.12.2011 |
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December 12, 2011
SULAIMANIYAH,
Kurdistan region 'Iraq', — The morning of
December 3 was anything but ordinary for the Chinese
women who offer message services at Yi Yan parlor,
with Sulaimaniyah security forces requesting that
they
not open their
business.
The request appeared to be in reaction to riots on
the day before, when a local Muslim preacher in the
border town of Zakho in Duhok province reportedly
enticed those attending mass prayers to take on
massage parlors and liquor stores. Following Friday
prayer, an angry mob attacked and torched massage
parlors, liquor stores and hotels.
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Yian Massage Center in Sulaimaniyah, Iraqi
Kurdistan. Photo: Rudaw |
Yi Yan is one of the many massage parlors that have
opened in Iraqi Kurdistan in recent years. The
businesses are often flooded with local Kurdish
customers, but conservative religious and
traditional figures in Kurdistan have often
disapproved of the establishments.
Some Muslim clerics consider the massage business
un-Islamic and against Kurdish traditions. Rumors
have long circulated that some massage parlors are
undercover brothels.
“We’re not here to do immoral things and the clothes
we wear do not mean immorality,” said Winigya, a
Chinese woman working at Yi Yan. “Our country’s
culture considers that normal but some people here
make judgments on your morality based on the type of
clothes you wear.”
The incidents in Duhok sparked a serious debate
about massage centers in Kurdistan’s public and
political spheres. Many Kurds suspect the women
offer prostitution,www.ekurd.net
something many Muslims do not agree with. Islam
forbids extra-marital sex and any physical contact
between men and women.
Following the attacks in Duhok , a massage parlor
was also torched in Sulaimaniyah. The attack did not
cause any casualties but raised concerns that the
attacks in Duhok might ignite violence against such
businesses.
Hian Li, 29, is another Chinese masseuse in
Sulaimaniyah. She said the rumors about their job
hurts their business.
“But it’s all false,” she said. She said in her
center, they only offer massages.
Mustafa Hama-Rahim, head of the Directorate of
Tourism in Sulaimaniyah, told Rudaw that his office
has provided instructions and guidelines for massage
parlors. He said that last month the businesses were
again notified to meet government standards of
hygiene and tourism.
According to Hama-Rahim, there are 18 massage
parlors in Sulaimaniyah that have a total of 90
Chinese women workers. The government requires those
parlors to provide fitness devices, sauna, clean
clothes and regular medical check-ups for their
staff, said Hama-Rahim.
Hama-Rahim said the recent tensions surrounding
massage parlors in Kurdistan might very well force
some of the parlors’ owners to close down their
businesses and return to their home countries.
Hama-Rahim considers the attacks on liquor and
message sites as a blow to the efforts by Erbil,
Kurdistan Region’s capital city, to be selected as
the top touristic destination in the Middle East.
As concerns exist as to whether more attacks might
occur, Zana Mohammed Salih, Sulaimaniyah’s mayor,
said the security forces are on alert and continue
monitoring massage parlors, which are also
frequented by foreigners.
“We don’t see anything suspicious that might
endanger touristic sites… Life is normal,” said the
mayor.
Karwan Subhan, a Sulaimaniyah resident, first went
to a massage parlor when he felt pain in his neck
and shoulders.
He says he was told about “other stuff” happening in
those parlors.
“But that wasn’t the case,” Subhan said. “I was
there for 25 minutes and they gave me a massage. I
felt like I was with a doctor.”
But resident Qadir Amin, 64, says the local
government is trying to “turn Sulaimaniyah into
Europe and disseminate immorality here.”
Taha Ahmed Qaradaghi, an prthopaedist, said massage
is a medically-recommended practice but warns in
certain cases it can be detrimental.
“Those who suffer from spinal pain should not do
massage because it could dislodge their joints,”
said Qaradaghi.
He said that most massage parlors have qualified
masseuses, and that hospitals also offer massage to
patients who have a doctor’s prescription for
physical therapy.
By Nawzad Mahmoud
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author or news agency,
rudaw.net
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