On June 9, 2021, Dietmar Köster, a German politician and Member of the European Parliament, has asked a number of questions to the to the Vice-President of the European Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. One of the questions focused on Women’s rights in the United Arab Emirates.
In one of the questions, the MEP stated that they always welcome the UAE’s policies and its efforts to strengthen security and stability in the region, as well as its overall advancement, particularly in the areas of development, youth and women’s empowerment, social communication, tolerance and coexistence.
“Women in the UAE continue to face discrimination in law and in practice. The Personal Status Law of 2005 states that a husband’s rights over his wife include the wife’s courteous obedience to him, and places conditions on a married woman’s right to work or leave the house.”
The MEP then proceeded to ask: “What concrete actions or measures has the VP/HR taken since then to improve the situation on the ground in this regard? And what new approaches will the VP/HR adopt in order to put pressure on the UAE to stop violating women’s rights?”.
Women’s rights in the UAE have recently come under heightened scrutiny. The Emirati government is failing to adequately protect women from sexual and domestic violence. A recent report from Human Rights Watch stated that there’s a Significant Discrimination Against Women, Girls in Law and Practice in the UAE. “Laws still provide male guardian authority over women and loopholes allow reduced sentences for men for killing a female relative.” Human Rights Watch said.
The UAE has carried out some reforms, such as prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex and gender in the country’s anti-discrimination law and revoking legal provisions that had obliged women to “obey” their husbands, explicitly affirmed a man’s legal right to discipline his wife and children, and punished consensual extramarital sex.
