Is sending heart emoticons to women a crime? Here's what Bahrain netizens have to say!

TDT | Manama                               

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Reported by Zahra Ayaz

Young people in Bahrain have resorted to social media to voice their thoughts about whether sending heart emoticons to women is improper and should be treated as criminal behaviour.

According to reports, in Kuwait, sending an online heart emoji to an unrelated female is now a crime of encouragement to the debauchery that is subject to legal sanctions. If found guilty of this offense, the maximum sentence for incarceration is two years, and the maximum punishment is KD2,000 fine.

Similarly, texting the red heart emoji on WhatsApp in Saudi Arabia may result in jail time. Anyone found guilty of this violation is subject to a two- to five-year jail term in addition to a fine of SR10,000 under Saudi law.

Due to these most recent incidents, there is concern among citizens and residents that Bahrain may soon consider sending heart emoticons to be a crime. They think it is OK to send these kinds of messages since it shows the recipients that the sender cares about them. 

These latest instances have spread a rumour among social media users that Bahrain may also soon consider sending heart emojis a felony, causing worry among citizens and residents. They believe that sending such messages is just a way to indicate that they care about the people they are sending them to and that it is not wrong.

According to Mari Del Rio, sending heart emojis is as common as punctuation nowadays. "I personally just like the warm vibe the emoji gives. It should not be a crime, as people can send it to their friends and families."

Rahul Rego believes that emojis are harmless. "Most people understand that the heart symbol (occasionally placed) just means 'I care about you'".

Ayesha Salaam revealed that though she is used to other girls sending her heart emojis, when a guy does the same, it becomes a little questionable. "However, I don’t think Bahrain will come up with such a law."

Abel Joseph said, "It is strange that they consider this a crime, but yes, it would make sense to take action if a girl reported a man for harassing her through text while using the heart emoji."

Meanwhile, Al Moataz Kutbi, a member of the Anti-Fraud Association in Saudi Arabia, emphasized that using "certain images and expressions during online conversation may turn into a harassment crime if a lawsuit is filed by the aggrieved party."