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The Royal Oman Police has detained a group of expatriate women in Muscat for committing acts contrary to public morals and decency. According to a statement from the force’s Muscat Governorate command, those arrested include individuals of Asian and African nationalities who also violated the Labour Law and the Foreigners’ Residence Law. The ROP indicated that legal procedures are being completed against the women, who were taken into custody on Sunday. Muscat Governorate Police Command carried out the operation as part of routine enforcement activities.
Oman’s Penal Code criminalises such conduct under Article 294, which carries penalties of imprisonment for up to three months, a fine of up to 300 Omani rials, or both. The Public Prosecution highlighted the need to respect public decency in a March 2026 awareness campaign reported by the Oman Observer. It stressed that appearing in public in ways that offend modesty or contradict societal customs constitutes an offence. Officials have urged collective responsibility in observing these standards.
National Centre for Statistics and Information figures show Oman’s population reached 5.4 million by the end of June 2026, including 2.33 million expatriates who make up 43.25 per cent of the total. The NCSI data places Muscat as the most populous governorate with more than 1.5 million residents. This demographic mix has placed added emphasis on regulatory compliance across diverse communities in the capital region.
The latest arrests follow a similar operation in August 2026, when Gulf News reported that several expat women faced comparable charges for public decency violations and immodest clothing in the same governorate. In that instance, the ROP again cited breaches of labour and residency regulations alongside the morals infractions. Authorities have conducted multiple such campaigns in recent years to uphold societal standards.
Historical records from Times of Oman document earlier cases, including the 2019 detention of 17 expat women in rented flats in Muscat for immoral acts. Other incidents involved groups of 10 and 15 individuals in different governorates for related violations. These repeated actions demonstrate the consistent application of the relevant statutes by Omani law enforcement. The reports indicate that legal proceedings followed in each case.
The Foreigners’ Residence Law governs the legal stay of expatriates, while the Labour Law sets conditions for their employment in the country. Violations of these statutes often accompany morals-related charges in police operations. The ROP has not disclosed the exact number of women involved in the most recent case.
