MANAMA (Reuters)-
In the Bay Area, where do people buy underwear, sex toys and creams designed to enhance the sexual pleasure of women, while the Bay Area is dissatisfied with the public sexual display?
Of course, it's a lady wearing a traditional headscarf.
Since its opening in Bahrain in 2008, Khadija Ahmed's sex store has undergone various difficulties and some particularly rigorous scrutiny by customs officials.
Ahmed's shop is a rare sight in the area, selling a variety of underwear, creams from the small Khadija fashion company south of Manama to delay male orgasm and sex toys, or through her websitewww. khadijamall. com)
For customers throughout the region.
A low-key Ahmed, dressed in traditional black robes and headscarves, told Reuters that most of the goods she sold were already sold in Bahrain's fashion stores and pharmacies in any case, and she avoided some products that provoked public anger.
"I don't sell vibrators, for example, because it's against Islam," she said . " Her beliefs prohibit copying or displaying sensitive parts of the body, she added.
Other toys, such as vibration rings, are fine, she said.
Ahmed said that after complaints from neighbors and nearby mosques, she changed her underwear in Bahrain's window and did not encounter much trouble.
In most Middle Eastern countries, open discussion and display is a taboo, but Islamic scholars also say it is legal if married couples use sex toys.
Bahrain is considered one of the more liberal countries in the Gulf region, allowing the sale of alcohol in bars and designated shops.
Every weekend, Saudis, Qatari and Kuwaitis flock to the island nation to enjoy the nightlife.
Ahmed's recent challenge was a legal case complained by a customs officer.
She is often difficult to clear through customs, and she is in trouble once an official refuses to clear a batch of massage tools and vibration rings.
"These are closed --minded people. . . .
Or they're just jealous. "She said.
Ahmed said she did not know there were any similar stores in the area and said she had a lot of customers from the UAE and highly conservative Saudi Arabia.
"Sometimes I go there with my brother to deliver the goods, but there are only orders of more than 150 Bahraini dinars ($398),” she said.
She is now considering opening a branch in a shopping mall in Dubai, Lebanon and Bahrain as her store has become too small to put all the products on the shelves.