Another story that caught my eye today was of a British Woman being held in Dubai for wearing a Bikini in public, It appears the woman was walking through Dubai Mall in a low cut top when she was challenged by a local woman, after a heated debate she stripped down to her Bikini and was arrested when the police attended the scene. Now this is not the first case of public indecency charges against UK citizens this year as it follows the case of an unmarried couple imprisoned for “Kissing and fondling each other” personally I am getting a bit sick of hearing these stories and the inevitable claims of unfairness that follow. If you go to another country – respect their laws! It is not hard, if you wish to walk around in a bikini or you can not control your actions in public perhaps the Islamic world should not be your first choice for a holiday destination.
Although to be honest I don’t actually see any reason for people to be half naked in this country either, or be all over each other whilst you are out in public, people often talk about the laws in Islamic countries being very backwards but there is a word for creatures that can not wear clothes or resist their urges for a few minutes and that word is - Animal. So perhaps we are the ones who are going backwards, whilst I am a lover of freedom I subscribe more to the philosophy that you have the freedom to go to Dubai or not, rather than the freedom to go there and act however you wish. I have chosen not to ever go there but this is based more on my experiences in Egypt and Tunisia and my desire to be treated as more than just a walking wallet than a worry of being unable to dress myself in the morning.
I have no sympathy for her. She was deliberately provocative when challenged and made the situation worse. Had she not been, and she had adjusted her top, there would have been no problem.
ReplyDeleteAs you say, one needs to respect local laws and customs. That should of course be a two-way street and apply to visitors here too.
Having said that, I expect that going out shopping in Dubai is a much more civilised and pleasant experience than it is here.