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The case of Charlotte Adams, the British woman jailed for kissing in public in Dubai, highlights how the emirate’s strict decency laws could land expatriates in trouble.
Considering the region’s reliance on a foreign workforce, could this deter financial services workers from making the move in the future?
For those who haven’t followed the case, last week Charlotte Adams dropped her attempts to appeal against a month-long jail sentence for kissing her friend Ayman Najafi in public, despite protestations it was merely a kiss on the cheek (which is allowed under Dubai law).
Najafi, a HR consultant within banking and other sectors, says he is still deciding whether to take the appeal to the Court of Cassation – Dubai’s highest court.
“The kissing incident will certainly deepen the dent in Dubai’s reputation, not only as a place for expats to live and work, but also for sunseeking tourists,” says Dr Christopher Davidson, a professor of Middle East studies at Durham University.
You could argue that any expat considering a move to the Middle East should bone up on the region’s strict public behaviour laws (this is certainly the Dubai government’s take on the case).
However, within the comparatively liberal environment of Dubai, some of these laws – such as the one that forbids non-married couples to live together – generally aren’t enforced. Similarly, as long as you don’t openly disregard laws around public drunkenness, it’s often overlooked.
This is changing, suggests Davidson: “This is the latest in an intensifying series of crackdowns and scapegoating. As the economic conditions have deteriorated, tension between conservative local people and misbehaving foreigners has come to the fore. In recent months we have seen a number of custodial sentences for finger gestures, explicit text messages, co-habitation of non-married couples, and pre-marital sex.”
Let’s not forget that the region also has strict laws relating to debt repayment and drugs. On the latter, British DJ Grooverider was famously jailed for four years after two grams of cannabis was found in his luggage when trying to enter Dubai in 2008.
From a Western point-of-view, this approach is overly punitive, and if Dubai gains too much of a conservative reputation the implications for the region’s financial sector could be significant.
Despite Emiratisation efforts, the Middle Eastern financial sector is still heavily reliant on expat expertise. There’s already a decent supply of western talent on-the-ground, thanks to the influx of recent years, but this is showing signs of slowing.
“Whether it’s because of high-profile public decency cases or just the perception of a lack of new opportunities, we’re seeing fewer investment bankers interested in making the move here,” says one Dubai-based headhunter. “In any case, firms are increasingly looking for the combination of local experience and western expertise, rather than seeking to relocate people to the region.”
I hope it is a turn-off to expats, or at least a wake up call. This is a muslim country. End Of Story. Don’t want/wish to respect their laws? Fine, don’t come. We’re tired of all the chavs and spivs who treat this like an outpost of Essex and taint the reputation of the rest of us.