(ANSAmed) - DUBAI, JULY 4 - There's the version of Facebook
which contributed toward coordinating and upholding social aims,
fostering the explosion of the Arab Spring, but there's also the
other version, which is set to crash head-on into the
deeply-rooted traditions of that same Arab world, alarmingly
highlighting women's vulnerability.
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the country with the highest incidence of social network usage in the region (45%), the number of cases which see women blackmailed in exchange for money or sex for having posted pictures in which they are wearing "dishonourable" attire are increasingly rising.
Pictures in a bathing suit, or in an off-the-shoulder top, are explosive tools in a society where, despite the wide liberal margin granted to the majority of the foreign population, respect for traditions, religion, family and honour are still strongly considered to be fundamental principles. The risk of being killed by a male family to rid the family of the shame of dishonour is infinitely smaller than in countries such as Jordan for example, where "honour killings" are still a potential - though increasingly frowned upon - solution to women's disrespectful behaviour.
The blackmailers are looking for money, forced sexual relations or emotional and psychological control, according to operators from the dedicated department set up by the Ministry of the Interior to tackle this growing phenomenon which has women in the Emirates stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they turn to the police to report cases of abuse they could be arrested. In cases where there were consensual sexual relations, despite being forced through blackmail, the victim can be arrested and locked up for having consented to a sexual act outside of marriage. This is an illegal and punishable act in the UAE.
The ministry's social department is victims' only safe harbour at the moment. "We offer victims total privacy", states a staff member at the office, who requested that he remain anonymous, "but acting as a police department we carry out inquiries and when necessary, such as in cases where there are other victims forced to perform criminal acts, we cannot merely protect, we must also report". Such would be the case if, for example, the investigation lead to the discovery of a criminal organization, making it more difficult to defende the victims' privacy. The younger generation's comments reveal the paradox within a country which is on the fast track toward futuristic investments and projects on the one hand, and proudly tied to Islam and the ancient Bedouin culture on the other. On the one hand, some people praise parents who allow their daughters to open Facebook accounts, even though they ban them from posting pictures, while on the other young men berate "easy" women who "market themselves" using social networks, girls they "would never marry". (ANSAmed).
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the country with the highest incidence of social network usage in the region (45%), the number of cases which see women blackmailed in exchange for money or sex for having posted pictures in which they are wearing "dishonourable" attire are increasingly rising.
Pictures in a bathing suit, or in an off-the-shoulder top, are explosive tools in a society where, despite the wide liberal margin granted to the majority of the foreign population, respect for traditions, religion, family and honour are still strongly considered to be fundamental principles. The risk of being killed by a male family to rid the family of the shame of dishonour is infinitely smaller than in countries such as Jordan for example, where "honour killings" are still a potential - though increasingly frowned upon - solution to women's disrespectful behaviour.
The blackmailers are looking for money, forced sexual relations or emotional and psychological control, according to operators from the dedicated department set up by the Ministry of the Interior to tackle this growing phenomenon which has women in the Emirates stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they turn to the police to report cases of abuse they could be arrested. In cases where there were consensual sexual relations, despite being forced through blackmail, the victim can be arrested and locked up for having consented to a sexual act outside of marriage. This is an illegal and punishable act in the UAE.
The ministry's social department is victims' only safe harbour at the moment. "We offer victims total privacy", states a staff member at the office, who requested that he remain anonymous, "but acting as a police department we carry out inquiries and when necessary, such as in cases where there are other victims forced to perform criminal acts, we cannot merely protect, we must also report". Such would be the case if, for example, the investigation lead to the discovery of a criminal organization, making it more difficult to defende the victims' privacy. The younger generation's comments reveal the paradox within a country which is on the fast track toward futuristic investments and projects on the one hand, and proudly tied to Islam and the ancient Bedouin culture on the other. On the one hand, some people praise parents who allow their daughters to open Facebook accounts, even though they ban them from posting pictures, while on the other young men berate "easy" women who "market themselves" using social networks, girls they "would never marry". (ANSAmed).
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