The Dark Side of Dubai: The Case of Alicia Gali

In the year 2008 Alicia Gali, a young Australian women who working as a beautician at a resort hotel in Dubai, was drugged, beaten, gang raped by three of her co-workers.  After the rape, Alicia did the natural thing and reported the incident to the local police.  Unfortunately, she did not realize that in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), sex outside of marriage, kissing, or even holding hands, can get a woman imprisoned.  

Often, when a woman is raped, they are charged with having sex outside of marriage and are themselves imprisoned, unless they provide irrefutable proof that they are raped.   Alicia didn't learn this until it was too late.  Shortly after reporting her rape to the police, Alicia and her three rapists were arrested and sent to prison on a 1-year prison sentence for having sexual relations outside of marriage.  Alicia was not only unjustly imprisoned by the U.A.E police, she was abandoned by both her employers and her own government.  Her hotel refused to give back her passport so she could receive help, and her government, not wanting to upset diplomatic relations, refused to intervene.  The Australian officials even pressured Alicia's family to keep silent and to not report this incident to the media.  

For 8 months Alicia suffered inside of prison and was released along with her rapists after the U.A.E government decided to issue a general pardon to the group.  Sadly, Alicia's case is not an isolated one.  Countless women in the U.A.E, both native and foreign workers have reported how the U.A.E repeatedly imprisons women if they report sexual abuse.  The fact that the Hotel Industries and Foreign Governments of the foreign employees react with a mixture of indifference & compliance is equally inexcusable.  Until this barbaric practice is stopped, all Western businesses, employees, and tourists should stay out of the U.A.E altogether.  

Link to Video Testimony