UAE | General
'I had nowhere else to go ... this is the only place I and other women have'
A heady discussion about the need for a women's shelter occupied an Arabic call-in radio show listened to by many UAE nationals, in the lead in to International Women's Day yesterday.
- By Diaa Hadid, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 March 10, 2006
Dubai: A heady discussion about the need for a women's shelter occupied an Arabic call-in radio show listened to by many UAE nationals, in the lead in to International Women's Day yesterday.
Abu Rashid, the host of a popular mid-morning programme on an Ajman-based station, said he initially raised the issue after unhappy husbands called in to complain about the shelter, and one of the coordinators, Sharla Musabeh, after their wives moved in there.
"I had no idea about the shelter so I let them have their say, and then I did my own research and bought many other people to talk about the shelter as well, for and against."
He said the discussion had convinced him the shelter was badly needed.
"Many people, including intellectuals, had spoken out against the shelter, and said it was corrupting the women, that it was taking funding from foreign embassies and the women did not want it licensed," he said.
"But I came to know that the women have tried for years to get the shelter licensed, that businesspeople pay for the shelter's upkeep and that the women running the shelter only accept cases documented by the police."
Abu Rashid said that he had surprised many listeners, especially when Dubai police said they directed women in difficult circumstances to stay there, and prominent lawyer Abdul Hamid Kumiti also called in to voice his support.
Abu Rashid said expatriate and UAE national women needed to access government-supported shelters.
"Expatriate women have a right to feel safe here and UAE women need it too. There are national women who have nowhere else to go."
Gulf News asked Abu Rashid if his views reflected that of many of his listeners.
"Even if people in UAE society thinks it is shameful for them [UAE nationals] to go to a shelter, the reality is that a woman who has nowhere else to go will end up in prison, or on the streets if there is no shelter."
Women from the shelter also participated in the live radio debate. Asma, an Iranian recently divorced from her UAE national husband after a 10-month-long court case, said she hoped people would understand.
"I had nowhere else to go, and it pains me the way people spoke of this shelter. This is the only place I and other women have."
Minister will not reconsider licence issue
The women's shelter in Dubai remains unlicensed, despite applications to different bodies, including the Social Affairs Ministry. Mariam Mohammad Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of Social Affairs, said she would not reconsider the licence application at present.
"I have my priorities," she said.
Abu Rashid, the host of a popular mid-morning programme on an Ajman-based station, said authorities needed to license shelters "all over the UAE. They need to oversee them, to ensure the shelters are safe from harm and that not just any woman goes there. They should only be sent there by police."
Sharla Musabih, one of the shelter's coordinators, said she felt vindicated.
"I can only thank those husbands who called and complained, because it gave us an opportunity to tell the truth about what we do."
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