Princess Latifa: How much freedom do women have in the UAE?

 

The case of Princess Latifa of Dubai has shocked the world.

Princess Latifa is the daughter of the ruler of Dubai. In a secret video, which she shared , the princess alleges that her father has been harassing her since she tried to flee Dubai in 2018. Is being held hostage. He said his life was in danger.

Following the release of the video, the United Nations announced that it would raise the issue of Princess Latifa with the UAE authorities.

Princess Latifa is not the first member of her family to try to flee Dubai.

In June 2019, Princess Haya bint Hussain, the ex-wife of Princess Latifa's father, managed to escape from Dubai to Germany, after which she took refuge there.

Princess Latifa's sister Shamsa had also tried to escape in the past but failed.

It is a disturbing story that reflects the oppression and family control of the strongest man in the Gulf region.

When it comes to the royal family, what happens to the millions of other women who live in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates? How do men in their lives decide about their basic rights and the possibilities available to them?

 

In the UAE, women have the right to vote, work and buy property. The World Economic Forum has named Dubai as the second best country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in terms of gender equality.

But it is important to know the context in which this classification is based.

First of all, the Middle East and North Africa have the lowest levels of gender equality in the world, according to the World Economic Forum's report on gender equality. No country in the entire region, other than Israel, is on the list of the top 100 countries in terms of gender equality.

The UAE is ranked 120th out of 153 countries.

Although the UAE has laws against gender-based discrimination, it does not discriminate on the basis of gender.

GETTY IMAGES / PRINCESS LATIFA

Although women have certain rights under the Personal Status Law, a woman has to rely on the male head of the household to get these rights. The head of the household can be the woman's husband or another male relative who allows women to acquire certain things.

The guardianship law in the UAE is not as strict as in Saudi Arabia.

But on the other hand, where women have rights, it is difficult for them to defend themselves in court in practice.

One aspect of a woman's life that affects her is her marriage. A woman needs the permission of a male guardian to get married.

The same is true of the child's right to sponsorship and inheritance.

Habba Zadeen, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, says there is also a non-governmental type of guardianship that is not defined in law but is enforced in society.

"Yes, there are occasions when women are asked to show a Guardian's permit before applying for a job or getting a house to live in," she told the BBC.

And these cases are more common when it comes to marriage and divorce.

Getting a divorce is also a difficult step for women. In this society, men can divorce a woman themselves, but when a woman has to divorce, she has to apply for a court order.

Domestic violence is another issue in which women continue to be discriminated against.

The last few years have seen some positive changes at the legal level. UAE law, for example, abolished men from allowing violence against women in 2016. Similarly, in 2019, the law was abolished under which women were legally obliged to remain 'obedient' to their husbands.

A new law came into force in March last year that gave women access to protection orders and introduced some other legal changes.

In 2018, the princess tried to escape with her friend

The new law defines domestic violence in such a way that "it includes threats or abuse that go beyond the guardianship, authority or responsibility." It is left to his discretion whether the accused person should be punished for domestic violence or not.

As a result, laws to protect victims of abuse are still weak.

Devon Kenny is a researcher at Amnesty International in the Gulf. He says what appears to be happening is that the state is eliminating the miscellaneous things it wrote in the law on its own terms. It shows how bad the attitude towards gender equality is.

He said he had not been allowed to enter the UAE since 2014 when the report was published due to these discriminatory laws.

"We have to rely on what the state writes in its laws and it also reflects their attitudes towards gender equality," he said.

Devon Kenney said that even after the apparent reforms, there is still a difference in these laws. "That's why we're skeptical," he said This does not necessarily indicate a major change in social and governmental attitudes.

Everyone who lives or travels in the UAE is bound by these laws, and there are no exemptions for tourists.

There have also been cases in which tourists going on holiday to Dubai have been arrested on the basis of similar laws.

In 2017, a British woman was sentenced to one year in prison for having sex with a man of her own free will.

He was arrested. The woman told authorities that the man was sending threatening messages to her and when the case was investigated, police found out that the woman had had sex with the man in the past and was arrested on that basis. Punished.

But do these laws apply equally in different cases?

A special legal change has recently been enacted. Prior to the legal change, women were categorized as wealthy foreign women, followed by Emirati women, and women from abroad who worked as domestic workers in the UAE. Work

Mr Kane said it appeared the UAE was now making the split on an editorial basis.

"By the end of last year, they had introduced, among other things, a package of personal law status reforms."

It was openly reported that the aim was to increase investment so that the country could attract foreign investors.

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It was also reported in the national press that the laws on inheritance and divorce have been changed for immigrants and not for Emirati women.

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), low-wage migrant workers are the biggest losers under a 2017 law. They make up 80% of the UAE's population.

It has also been said that women migrants, especially those working as housemaids in South and Southeast Asia, are treated harshly.

Kenny says these working immigrants have very few rights. He cited an article in the Penal Code and said that violations committed by consensus in the name of honor could be prosecuted. In practice, she says, it is being used to target consensual sex, especially if it violates gender norms.

Female immigrants who come to UAE hospitals with pregnancy. When she fails to present her husband, who is responsible for the pregnancy, legal action is taken against her.

A woman who becomes pregnant without marriage is sentenced to more than a year in prison, and women from abroad must serve the sentence before leaving the country.

According to a report by the Guardian last year, citing UAE officials, there are a few thousand women immigrants who have given birth out of wedlock.

Similarly, women who have been raped are prosecuted under existing laws against having sex outside of marriage.

A 2015 BBC Arabic study found that hundreds of women, including women who have been raped, face imprisonment each year under the law. This includes most housewives.