Dubai/UAE - where did you think you were?

[WhyamIinahandcartandwherearewegoing]

I’ll preface this by saying I wish the best for anyone out there, working or holidaying. I hope you are and remain safe.

but do people go there with next to no concern for where in the world it’s located? Do they pay no attention to news or the general geopolitical situation, it’s hnot exactly a secret.

are we really that dense that most people don’t look past the bling, the weather, the tax perks, the bloody influencers?

Not every country is as bad as Dubai..

Why do you think a sexist culture which demands women dress modestly on legal pains, but not men, deserves to be respected, though?

I'm not sure what your point is tbh.

Spot on.

Dubai is the poster place of 'If it seems too good to be true, it probably is'. 'Sheikh' Makhtoum (not that he deserves the title..) is a master of sleight of hand.

Are you thinking of Tom Holland's Dominion?

I see what you mean.

I'm not sure about snobbery though. Plenty of mc professionals go to Dubai, people probably disapprove of them too.

It's in the mix. Certainly worth digging around, it's more than one persons idea.

At the same time, I am very much a believer that we have always been human. Whether in 500,000 BCE, 5,000BCE, 500BCE, 500CE 1500CE or 2026CE.

I was surprised to hear people relocating there saying they didnt realise how close to Iran it was... do people relocate somewhere and don't even check where it is on a map? 🤯

I think that we should stay as far away from other countries as possible. Our history is littered with hideous outcomes for other countries because we decided we knew best.

I think that the western countries are in no position to be telling anyone else anything. We have child sexual abuse endemic at the absolute top of our institutions and society and are actively been covering it up for decades (& still are). It is the western countries that has hundreds of thousands of paedophiles accessing the dark web and directing abuse of children across the world.
It is our countries that knowingly buy the products that are produced by child labour across the world whilst also outsourcing the pollution that is involved in creating these products to other countries
It is our countries that have anything between 60 - 90% of women facing rape, sexual harassment and domestic violence with conviction rates in single figures
It is western countries who create the majority of conflict across the world by interfering with the countries often through economic or actual force but yeh…. Dubai is the problem and they should listen to us because we know best. We have so much to teach them! Absolutely

I see what you mean but I'm not sure about this.

I know quite a few people who've been to Dubai (including 2 who lived there before moving to UK and going to school with me).

They were all from mc professional backgrounds- some kept up with news, some didn't. I don't think that's unusual.

If you knew (as I did, for some reason) that Iran is sort of what used to be Persia, you should have had an inkling that it's fucking massive.

I'm with you on that. I do agree partly with that book, I'll need to read more.

It is western countries who create the majority of conflict across the world by interfering with the countries often through economic or actual force but yeh….

• are you certain about this? That seems an arguably Western-centric viewpoint. If the West didn't exist, do you think all countries currently at war would be at peace?

'It is our countries that have anything between 60 - 90% of women facing rape, sexual harassment and domestic violence with conviction rates in single figures'

• do you think women in non-Western countries generally have a better situation with regard to rape, DV and sexual harassment?

'We have child sexual abuse endemic at the absolute top of our institutions and society and are actively been covering it up for decades (& still are). It is the western countries that has hundreds of thousands of paedophiles accessing the dark web and directing abuse of children across the world.'

• do you think child sexual abuse is more common in the West?

I also know people working in the UAE both as midwives and also midwifery lecturers - they have set up the first direct entry midwifery programme out there. So some ex pats are out there improving things for local women,.

In some ways it has. Their royals are very chummy with ours, and Charles esp had gushed about them..

Don't fall for it, though. Jordan treats women poorly, as a whole.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0f39w53

That's just head in the sand whataboutery and I suspect you know it. Do you think women in Dubai have more human rights than a woman in the UK? On a day to day basis

There are reasons why women fought for better rights - for the right to vote for one. Should we just regress to the point where smacking and raping your wife in the UK is legal?

Should westerners continue to go to places like Dubai on holiday and just stick their heads in the sand as to how women there get treated because they "love Dubai"

There's loads of places I wouldn't go on holiday - it's not just Dubai

Part of the reason that conviction rates for rape and sexual abuse are in single figures is because of the issue of corroboration

You seem to be promoting the argument that just because aspects of life in the UK are awful - that women in Dubai should put up with worse - that's some argument

That's good.

Excellent post

Are you bored of the modern day slavwry rhetoric too?

I agree re gangs. I think a person trafficked does have more chance of getting justice here though (though still hard).

Dubai can easily deport someone via the kafala system if a migrant workers complains. And if someone is sex trafficked they can be jailed ad selling sex is illegal.

So boring, isn't it? 🥱

It’s a funny one, Dubai. I have been but it was over 20 years ago so I expect it is quite different now.

I know a few Russians living in London and a couple of them say that Dubai is one of the only places they can easily meet up with their families travelling from Russia.

There are quantitative differences though. Marital rape is legal in Dubai.
Dubai has the kafala system, which makes it very hard for migrant women to speak up about abuse.
Selling sex is illegal there, so women selling sex risk arrest if they report abuse.

By your logic, because we haven't fully overcome misogyny here, we shouldn't criticise Afghanistan.

And people do criticise other countries like, say, Saudi Arabia. Dubai gets more cricisim because some people praise it as a tax haven where you can make a living easily.

Not so. I am one of the most politically aware people I know. I'm always genuinely confused by people who have no knowledge of the world around them. I love Dubai as a holiday destination, as a single parent I feel safe to holiday there with my children. Is it perfect, no far from it. Very few holiday destinations are. And as selfish as this no doubt makes me, I am a low paid, full time single parent - I want a holiday every year & as much as I'd love to have the budget and flexibility to be completely environmentally friendly, eat organic and travel sustainably - for me it isn't achievable.

I get what you mean.

The population is majority expat though - 90%. Obviously that's not the same as influencer!