Unaccompanied men are barred from sitting in certain areas of the beach in Abu Dhabi due to protests from beach users, according to a news Thursday.
The decision was taken by Abu Dhabi Municipality after receiving complaints from families and women that men stared, took photographs and bothered people using the beach, the Daily Mail reported.
Men who are not with a woman or a child are banned from the paid Family beach at the Corniche in the UAE, the newspaper said.
Arif Al Tamimi, a supervisor in the municipality’s community-services division told The National they were also not allowed to sit along the footpath behind it. However, they are allowed in the area’s two free beaches and at the paid Al Sahil beach, as long as they wear proper swimming attire.
He added that men are also welcome in the gardens and footpaths by the beaches, according to the Daily Mail.