DSLRs Illegal in Kuwait, If You’re Not Pro

DSLRs Illegal in Kuwait, If You're Not Pro

In Kuwait, it is illegal to use a DSLR camera in public if you’re not a professional photographer. That is the conclusion of three Kuwaiti government ministries: The Ministry of Information, Ministry of Social Affairs and Ministry of Finance, who opined that photography should be used for journalism purposes only.

Whadda eff? If you’re an amateur or a hobbyist, you simply have no right to lug around a digital single lens reflex camera in public places, on the streets and in malls. It’s no go for you, Pedro, if you’re not a pro.

Reporter Abdullah Al-Qattan of the Kuwaiti Times reports that young people in that Middle Eastern country are confused about what to do with their cameras if they can’t use them in public. They are also wondering why such laws are implemented in the first place.

But before everybody rushes to conclusions (especially if you have Western upbringing), it might help to consider the Islamic tradition of prohibiting human images in any form of visual art. The proliferation of those big, bad black cameras is simply too much for conservatives to endure.

[Via: Kuwaiti Times]

Published by Chris Malinao

Chris teaches Lightroom as workflow software to photography students at the FPPF, Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation. He also teaches smartphone photography.