Multiple press accounts report that a 23 year old British Muslim woman raped in the United Arab Emirate’s (UAE) Dubai was arrested and jailed for having “illegal sex.” The Sun reports that UAE law “contain elements of Sharia law.” In addition, the Khaleej Times reports how women fear reporting rape, for fear of being blamed and also due to death threats.
UAE: British Woman raped in Dubai charged for having illegal sex
— London Times reports: “A 23-year-old British woman who was raped while on holiday in Dubai now faces jail in the Gulf state for having illegal sex outside marriage.”
— “The young woman was attacked in the toilet of a hotel where she had had been drinking with her fiancé to celebrate their engagement during a holiday in Dubai over New Year’s Eve.”
— “When she reported the rape to police however, she and her 44-year-old boyfriend were jailed themselves for having sex outside marriage, which remains illegal under the emirate’s strict laws on decency. The couple were also charged with drinking illegally outside licensed premises.”
— “According to reports, Dubai police were more interested in questioning the woman about her drinking and sexual preferences than investigating her attack. It is claimed that standard procedure in alleged rape cases was not followed, although legal sources in Dubai dispute this. However, a blood test was taken to prove the woman had been drinking.”
— “The woman’s attacker, understood to be a Syrian waiter at the Address, has denied rape claiming sex was consensual. Instead, he has also been charged with illegal sex outside marriage. It is still unclear if the rape charge is being investigated at all by police.”
— The UK Sun reports: “unsympathetic cops immediately quizzed them about breaking the emirate’s severe decency rules, which contain elements of Sharia law.”
— “Medics were said to have shunned rape case procedures – but made sure they obtained a blood sample from the woman to prove she had been drinking.”
— “After being locked up, she told a cellmate she was terrified the rapist had made her pregnant or given her a sexually transmitted disease.”
— “She and her fiance spent several days behind bars before being freed.”
— “The cellmate, held for alleged cheque fraud, said: ‘She’s a British girl but a Muslim, so I think they were tougher on her because of that.’ ”
— The Guardian reports: “Police began to question the couple about breaking the emirate’s strict decency laws. Usual rape procedures were ignored and the woman was given a full medical check and a morning-after pill only after the intervention of British embassy staff, the paper reported.”
— The Khaleej Times reports: “Reputation Concerns Hold Back Women from Reporting Rape”
— “A recent survey regarding crimes against women in the UAE revealed that most residents would report a rape case to the police. Among those women who said they would not report rapes, a majority cited concern for their reputation and that of their family as the reason.”
— “The survey — YouGov Siraj’s lifestyle poll — which involved 980 men and women respondents and was released last week, said that 77 per cent would report an attempted rape or sexual assault.”
— “It also showed that of the women who said they would not report such a crime, 55 per cent were worried about their reputation. One in two also said they feared being judged by society or unjustly accused of immoral behaviour.”
— “Among Arab women, the official said there had been many cases of women who had been raped and assaulted by relatives or strangers and had approached the police for protection but would not report the abuse, fearing it would affect family honour.”
— “The official said men are exploiting such fears to commit crimes against women, knowing that the matter was unlikely to come to light, while ignoring that raping a woman is considered an attack against the values or ‘honour’ of a society.”
— “The official said men are exploiting such fears to commit crimes against women, knowing that the matter was unlikely to come to light, while ignoring that raping a woman is considered an attack against the values or ‘honour’ of a society.”
— ” ‘The society always blames woman for being raped, instead of punishing the man who did it,’ he said.”
— “However, some women also based their concern on physical threats.”
— ” ‘We had cases of women who did not report the crime, as they were threatened with death,’ he said.”
