To wonder why so many people don't realise the risks.

[Babbaganush]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-39208946
Dubai
An engaged couple are under arrest for having sex outside marriage, they were reported after she presented at hospital with cramping and was found to be pregnant.
I can't understand the attraction of the place but I spent a lot of time there in the mid 80s when my father worked there - that probably put me off for life!

onthettcbus there is NOTHING the consulate, UK government or anyone can do if a British citizen breaks the laws of a country they are visiting.

Your sister will have irrefutable evidence of sex and no marriage certificate. If she needs medical help she could end up in exactly the same mess.

so a trip to the registry office or a holiday in a different place.

Foreign Office Advice
www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/united-arab-emirates/local-laws-and-customs

Relationships outside marriage

All sex outside marriage is illegal, irrespective of any relationship you may have with your partner in the UK. Same-sex marriages are not recognised and all homosexual sex is illegal. If the UAE authorities become aware that you’re conducting a sexual relationship outside marriage (as recognised by them), you run the risk of prosecution, imprisonment and/or a fine and deportation. It’s against the law to live together, or to share the same hotel room, with someone of the opposite sex to whom you aren’t married or closely related.

The UAE is in many respects a tolerant society and private life is respected, although there have been some reports of individuals being punished for sexual activity outside marriage, including homosexual activity, particularly where there is any public element, or the behaviour has caused offence. This applies both to expatriate residents and to tourists.

Due to the laws on sex outside marriage, if you become pregnant outside marriage, both you and your partner could face imprisonment and/or deportation. Doctors may ask for proof of marriage during ante-natal checks. An unmarried woman who gives birth in the UAE may also encounter problems when registering the birth of the child in the UAE, and could be arrested, imprisoned or deported. To get a birth certificate from the UAE authorities, you must provide a marriage certificate and the authorities may compare the date of the marriage against the estimated date of conception.

I was asked to produce a marriage certificate in order to register at the OB's office at a well known UAE hospital as soon as the pregnancy was established.
I know not every hospital asks but it wouldn't be wise to be unmarried and pregnant holidaying in Dubai . There are plenty of stories about women who get caught out with pregnancy complications , premature delivery or even sadly miscarriage, that are prosecuted.
The law is the law as horrid and harsh as it is.
The prisons are full of unmarried women with their illegitimate children also behind bars with them. Many are domestic workers who have very little chance of the international press backing them .
Often they have been abused and the pregnancies were not consensual .

And yet there was that thread the other day suggesting that people on here are sneery for being critical of holidaying in Dubai and other middle eastern countries.
Wild horses could not drag me over there.
Awful for that couple. This is the reality of these places.

I'm sure lots of things 'apply' but they're still happy to take your pounds shillings and pence (and dollars of course) right up until they arrest you. Of course, unmarried couples, hetero or gay, and trans people can book a holiday there and spend loads of their money to keep the local economy going (more important than oil) whilst keeping their fingers crossed they don't get 'caught'. And as for the 'victims' country of origin stating they can't help because its local law, well elements of Sharia law adopted by criminal law in the UAE says women can be flogged and stoned, so what, that's ok too then is it? I think it's quite worrying that, although tourism has been heavily promoted to be the countries driving force for the economy, the arrests of foreigners for 'crimes' such as this have, at the same time, continued to rise and rise exponentially. I wonder what our FO do/say behind the scenes when British citizens get arrested.

I'm always baffled why an unmarried couple would go to a country where sex outside of marriage is illegal for work or holiday. Regardless of how wrong such a law may be, it's just such a hostage to fortune to put yourself in a situation where anyone who takes a dislike to you can shop you to the police.

special I think there is something they can do, I think they try their best to get you deported from wherever you are being held. But I wonder what it is the FO actually say to the foreign government to make that happen. They obviously thinks it's the best way to protect their citizens without causing an international incident.

They lived in the country. they both knew the draconian laws they obviously just assumed that they didn't apply to them!

as for the unmarried pregnant woman planning to go there - please, just don't, don't do it.

The only way to stop this happening is to hit them where it hurts - in the pocket. don't go there on holiday and don't fund this. if all the hotels and attractions are empty then there will soon be pressure put on to relax laws like this.

all the time people are stupid enough to go out there for holidays or to work and think that they are somehow immune the situation will never change.

why do people think that they can just rock up in any old country in the world and it will be just like home?

I'm asking as my dsis is visiting with her partner in may and will be around 20 weeks pregnant, they are unmarried.

Why on earth would they choose to go there??

why do people think that they can just rock up in any old country in the world and it will be just like home?

I have no bloody idea but there are plenty of seasoned travellers and even long term expats who think this way .

What would happen if you were unmarried and pregnant and your flight got diverted to Dubai? Hmmm!

I have a friend who was cabin crew for Emirates. She got pregnant, got the first flight to London she could get, had an abortion and flew back to Dubai the next day.

Polarbear - you pretend you are married. look if you are only in the country for a couple of hours no one is going to report you.

but if you bloody well live there for 5 years you should at least have the intelligence to ascertain what the laws and customs are and abide by them. if you piss someone off who works for you, or a neighbour or whatever then of course they are going to shop you and of course the authorities will have to act. so the answer is, when in rome do as the romans. or doesn't anyone stop and think about this any more.

also, if you choose to holiday somewhere then you should research beforehand what the customs and practices are that might have an impact on you. like what is the age limit for drinking in a particular usa state before you rock up there and buy a beer for your 18 year old.

Basic. Common. Sense.

The whole point is that if you go to another country on holiday or for business, etc., you must respect their laws. Why do some people think that these laws do not apply to them? It is a shame that people from other countries are sometimes guilty of not respecting our laws when they come here .... but that's another topic!

My DDs friend works in Dubai and comes home with all sorts of stores which leave me shocked.

She says most foreigners drink, have sex etc etc but don't do it in the open. She has been told by her employers NEVER to report a sex attack to the police as she will be arrested for having sex outside marriage. It all sounds horrific to me.

I cannot understand why anyone would ever want to visit that country, and many others with such Stone Age laws.

Pitchfork - really???

So, the evidence is that this is against the law, and that if there was a problem/hospital visit and onthebus sister went to the hospital, she woudl be arrested, but you blithely say - still go!

My parents worked in Saudi when I was a kid. They turn a blind eye to a lot of what the expats are doing, but when it is shoved in their face, they have to act.
This means that you walk a tightrope all the time with alcohol, sex, etc.

I don't agree with their laws, butwe shouldn't be surprised if they enforce them.

Pitchfork accidentally left out a crucial "not" from her first post and then corrected it.

whoops sorry pitchfork - I didn't realise my computer hadn't updated when I posted!

The only way to stop this happening is to hit them where it hurts - in the pocket. don't go there on holiday and don't fund this. if all the hotels and attractions are empty then there will soon be pressure put on to relax laws like this.

Exactly.
Awful for this couple but maybe it'll make some others think twice.

Sorry bold fail

This is absolutely awful. I'm ashamed to say I had no idea this could happen.

Loads of unmarried pregnant slebs go there for their 'baby moons'. I wonder if they're aware.

This is terrible. I hope the media exposure gets them freed, but sadly as has already been said, the prisons are full of women in similar situations.

why do people think that they can just rock up in any old country in the world and it will be just like home?

I think it must be especially widespread in the UK, due to the many colonies England used to have, and the fact that the people in those colonies, to this day, all speak English.

Reading the Miss Marple novels, it seems that Englishwomen during that time could, indeed, rock up in any old place and the only thing to worry about would be the heat and tropical diseases.

What would happen if you were unmarried and pregnant and your flight got diverted to Dubai? Hmmm!

Can this happen? And if yes, flights to what places are dangerous? I wouldn't wish to step foot inside that country for even a milisecond.

I signed a petition recently to free a woman, who was jailed. She had left her Partner for beating her up, so he reported her for being in a sexual relationship with him.

He wasn't even arrested.

There have been other similar petitions from the families of rape victims.

This doesn't just apply to Adults, young teen girls have been arrested after being raped.