Business | Technology
Building friendship through cyber sisterhood
Expat women in UAE use dedicated websites to redefine conventional ways of socialising.
- By Nadia Saleem, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:32 August 19, 2008
Dubai: Bored and desperately seeking someone for a sisterly chat? Just log on to ExpatWoman.com and TheBridgets.com.
Welcome to the new women's order in the UAE. From gossip and shopping to new levels of sisterhood, women are loading up ammo in virtual tearooms to face the men in Dubai. In the process, they are also redefining conventional ways of socialising. Websites for women - most of whom are expatriates - are picking up in the UAE, with some providing information while others offer sheer fun.
A combination of both is Expatgossip.com. It boasts 5,754 members, the majority of whom are, of course, women. Launched three years ago, it aims at offering "lighthearted fun," according to Jane Head, a site member. When asked on what they gossip about, she says: "We might gossip about something we've read in Gulf News." Although the site allows men to join, many are "kicked out" due to misbehaviour, says Jules B., who moderates the site.
Other women-centred websites include ExpatWoman.com and TheBridgets.com. Jane Drury, who started ExpatWoman six years ago, says the site is "written by women, for women." TheBridgets.com was initially set up to support single women in the region, looking to make friends and to discover Dubai. By the way, men are not allowed. Don't even think about it.
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