To not understand how anyone would go to Dubai

[GladAllOver]

A woman reports being raped, and is promptly arrested for having non-marital sex. And this isn't the first time. How can anyone choose to go to such a savage, uncivilised place?

news.sky.com/story/british-woman-arrested-in-dubai-after-reporting-rape-10660134

Oh, and to the PP who says Dubai is cheap.... are you sure you're not thinking of Derby?

OP I have asked myself the very same question a few times when I have heard about people saying they are going to/have been to Dubai. Like Saudi Arabia,it sounds like a brutal,savage country with zero respect for women. How anyone would choose,of their own free will,to go there,is totally beyond me.

Posted too soon. It's all very well saying it's a safe country (like Saudi) with little crime. But that is no consolation when there is a 'victime blaming' culture,and women are treated like dirt,with no rights at all.

If Dubai was such a savage brutal country with zero respect for women, I would never have chosen to come here.
Unless you have actually been here, then you do not know what you're talking about.

It's not a cheap holiday at all! I suppose it depends where you stay but a visit to the Middle East is very expensive especially if you stay in one of the more luxurious hotels.
Far more pricey than a European holiday.

If you go there you'll see the vast majority of locals and staff are very welcoming and genuine towards tourists. It's a great place to visit. There are many countries in the world with injustices and poor human rights. It doesn't mean the whole country should be shunned and written off. Visiting Dubai is not supporting poor human rights, it's supporting the local economy where millions of "normal" people are trying to make a decent living. They're not all out raping women!!

YABU

We lived in Dubai - a fabulous safe place - you can reserve a table in a cafe by leaving your iPhone on it and not worry about it 'walking'.

I would move back/visit in an instant.

If you don't go you are missing out.

I also trust what I see in the (western) media less and less these days.

Oh and I was always treated with respect - the Emirati's I came across were charmers/gentlemen

Foreign laborers in Dubai often live in conditions described by Human Rights Watch as being "less than humane",[5][6][9] and was the subject of the documentary, Slaves of Dubai.[7] A 2006 NPR report quoted Baya Sayid Mubarak, the Indian consul for labor and welfare in Dubai, as saying "the city's economic miracle would not be possible without armies of poorly paid construction workers from the Indian sub-continent". The NPR report stated that foreign construction workers lived "eight and ten to a room in labor camps" and that "many are trapped in a cycle of poverty and debt, which amounts to little more than indentured servitude."[10]

Not for me, thanks.
I like a little human dignity in my holiday destinations.

To be fair, I love Dubai, it's a vibrant electric place. However the point is not just about Dubai, there is many many places around the world that have horrific human rights abuses towards women that are major tourist spots. Maldives anyone? What about India?

It's a personal judgement call on whether uou don't travel to certain countries based on this.

I think I'll cope without visiting a place that doesn't consider me a full human being, even if they are polite to my face.

We passed through the airport, once... ! That was quite enough for me, no way would I visit as a holiday maker, between the overpowering heat, even at 3 in the morning, the smell and general attitudes towards women would make me stay well away.

Bit of a devil's advocate here....Could there not be an argument that continued exposure to western ideals (if they are to be held as something to aspire to) is the way to facilitate gradual change?

you can reserve a table in a cafe by leaving your iPhone on it and not worry about it 'walking'.

Good for you, your toy is safe in a cafe. Meanwhile homosexuals face the death penalty, women require the permission of men to marry or divorce, the government secretly imprisons dissidents, and the maltreatment of foreign workers is well documented.

But hey who cares, you're having a good time.

I grew up in Dubai. Rampant misogyny, racism and human rights abuses, yes. But it is changing, mostly for the better IMO. Cases like this are a sad exception to that rule. Poor woman.

I happen to live in the UK now but I could probably live in the UAE again quite easily. I feel that mixed communities are important in general, and the phenomenon of people from more liberal countries flouncing off with a backwards look of disgust at the UAE and its neighbours will not necessarily encourage said countries to reform. Go/be there, in person, and engage with people. Explain women's rights, stand up for women, discuss, form relationships with people who live there (local if possible). That's how the UAE will change (and IMO why it has changed this far). Sitting there regarding them in disgust won't advance women's rights much.

Ifailed
I agree entirely.

I wouldn't visit.

Go/be there, in person, and engage with people. Explain women's rights, stand up for women, discuss, form relationships with people who live there (local if possible). That's how the UAE will change (and IMO why it has changed this far). Sitting there regarding them in disgust won't advance women's rights much.

But that's not what people do on holiday, is it? They prefer not to look beyond the glitz and beach to the misery underneath. They're not going to become agitators; I imagine that would have dangers of its own.

Then don't visit... The very fact that the alleged rapists are British speaks volumes really... The brits are absolutely the worst behaved when they go abroad. Don't worry, I don't think dubai will suffer because you didn't visit. Yabvu

Well really shit things can happen to those who report rape in in the UK too. Pop over to Feminism chat and have a look at the "jailed for reporting sexual assault " thread

I'm sure the safety of people's iPhones will be of great comfort to this poor woman and others who have suffered the same vile, inhumane treatment...

I also trust what I see in the (western) media less and less these days.

That'd be confirmation bias on your part.

The laws and traditions in the UAE are fucking abhorrent

Agree with OP, I would not go there and wonder why anyone else goes there, out of choice.