(AFP) - When Nada, a 28-year-old yoga instructor, started pole dancing a few years ago, the reaction in conservative Saudi society was very harsh, but she didn't stop.

For years, her family and friends have told her that this grueling sport, which requires physical strength and coordination of acrobatic movements on a pole, is "so wrong". Society often associates the sport of pole dancing with the dances that appear in Hollywood films in night strip clubs and in some dance performances that include sexual overtones.

However, despite the criticism and the negative view of this unpopular sport in the Arab world in general, the young Saudi woman continued her training in a sports hall in Riyadh, defying her critics.

And she says today that she believes that she has made progress in convincing them of the benefit of this sport, which also depends on the element of agility, at least among her friends.

"In the beginning, my friends said it was inappropriate and wrong. Now they say: we want to try it," she explains to AFP, preferring to use only her first name for fear of any negative reaction towards her.

For decades, Saudi women have suffered from strict social restrictions that limited their role in the labor market and their ability to practice a large number of sports, accompanied by the compulsory wearing of the black abaya and the veil.

However, the promotion of women's sports has recently begun to escalate as part of an unprecedented campaign to achieve social openness and change the Kingdom's image in the outside world from strict to soft, despite the continuous repression of activists and dissidents.

Last month, the Saudi women's football team played its first home match against Bhutan, and work is underway to launch the Women's Premier League.

Officials also aim to get more women involved in golf, a traditionally male-dominated sport that is popular locally.

And while changes are accelerating in the mostly young Saudi society, at least three gyms in Saudi Arabia have launched pole dancing courses, AFP noted.

"I feel that pole dancing (also called pole dancing) is getting more attention because it is something new that girls love to try," says Mai Al-Youssef, director of one of these halls in Riyadh.

A former pole dancer in Riyadh asserts that she was not "at all" ashamed of her experience, explaining, "This is my personality. I will not be ashamed (...) of my femininity. I am not ashamed of anything as long as I do not harm others."

But she acknowledged that others may not feel the same degree of comfort, noting that she agreed to talk about her experience to France Press, on condition of anonymity.

She pointed out that the only reason she stopped practicing this sport is that pole dancing is something that requires great physical effort, and it is more difficult than it appears on TV.
"I realized this is not for me. I need a lot of muscle and a lot of strength to be able to do this," she says.
As for Youssef, she hopes that the photos and videos that she publishes to her followers on the “Instagram” application will show the extent of the effort that it takes to dance on the pole.
According to the gym manager, her clients started talking about physical changes for the better after exercising, and that they "loved themselves more".