UPR Sexual Rights Database

UN Compilation:
Para 40) CEDAW was concerned that it was still possible for a husband to prohibit his wife from working and to limit her freedom of movement, pursuant to articles 71 and 72 of the Personal Status Law. It urged the United Arab Emirates to repeal those articles without delay and to review any other provisions that impeded women’s free choice of profession and employment.
Para 47) OHCHR stated that issues relating to women’s rights under personal status laws, such as Federal Law No. 28 (2005), remained in need of development, as they continued to fall outside of the provisions of the CEDAW.
Para 48) CEDAW was concerned that the principle of equality of women and men had still not been enshrined in the Constitution and national legislation, and that discrimination against women had not yet been defined in accordance with the CEDAW and prohibited by law.
Para 49) [CEDAW] was particularly concerned about the de jure maintenance of male guardianship of women and girls, the impossibility for an Emirati woman to sign her own marriage contract, the continued practice of dowry, the obligation imposed on a woman to obey her husband, including sexually, the maintenance of polygamy and the limited grounds available to women to seek divorce, while men could unilaterally request a divorce for any reason.
Para 50) CEDAW took note of the 2011 decree granting nationality to children born of Emirati women and foreign fathers upon reaching the age of majority. However, it remained concerned that Emirati women were still denied equality regarding nationality compared with the rights guaranteed to men.
Para 51) [CEDAW] was deeply concerned that a divorced woman lost custody of her daughters when they reached 13 years of age and of her sons when they reached 11 years of age, or even before those ages if she remarried.
Para 52) [CEDAW] noted with serious concern that, in 2010, the Federal Supreme Court had issued a ruling upholding the right of men to chastise their wives and children and that, in 2013, the United Arab Emirates had not accepted the recommendation made during the second cycle of the universal periodic review to repeal article 53 of the Penal Code, which authorized that right. The Committee was also concerned about the slow progress that had been achieved in enacting comprehensive legislation on violence against women.
Para 53) [CEDAW] was concerned about violence against women resulting from the criminalization of consensual sexual relations between adults outside of marriage, under article 356 of the Penal Code, and the use of that article to criminalize women in prostitution and women who were victims of trafficking, sexual exploitation and abuse. It was concerned that, in all those cases, women faced harsh sanctions, such as prison sentences, torture and the death penalty, and inhuman, cruel or degrading punishment in the form of stoning or flogging. It was also concerned that hundreds of women were reportedly serving sentences after being convicted of having sexual intercourse outside of marriage (zina).
Para 54) [CEDAW] was concerned that access to justice by women and girls, including effective legal remedies, was severely hampered by the reluctance to register complaints and the negative attitudes of law enforcement officials towards women denouncing acts of violence committed against them.
Para 55) [CEDAW] was also concerned about the discriminatory treatment of women in courts, especially foreign women, the lack of interpretation services and legal aid and the disproportionately severe sentences imposed on foreign women in criminal court proceedings.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 52) HRW stated that discrimination on the basis of sex and gender was not included in the definition of discrimination in the 2015 anti-discrimination law, …
Para 53) GCENR stated that the nationality law discriminated on the basis of gender with regard to the conferral of nationality on non-national spouses. Article 3 enshrined the right of Emirati men to confer nationality on foreign spouses, however, the same right was denied to Emirati women.
Para 54) According to HRW, Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 regulated matters of personal status, and some of its provisions discriminated against women. For instance, the law provided that, for a woman to marry, her male guardian must conclude her marriage contract; men had the right to unilaterally divorce their wives, whereas a woman who wished to divorce her husband must apply for a court order; a woman could lose her right to maintenance if, for example, she refused to have sexual relations with her husband without a lawful excuse; and women were required to “obey” their husbands. A woman might be considered disobedient, with few exceptions, if she decided to work without her husband’s consent.
Para 55) HRW continued that Article 53 of the Penal Code allowed the imposition of “chastisement by a husband to his wife and the chastisement of minor children” so long as the assault did not exceed the limits prescribed by Sharia, or Islamic law. Marital rape was not a crime. Furthermore, in 2010, the Federal Supreme Court issued a ruling—citing the Penal Code—that sanctioned husbands’ beating and inflicting other forms of punishment or coercion on their wives, provided they did not leave physical marks.
Para 56) According to HRW, Article 356 of the Penal Code criminalizing (but not defining) “indecency” provided for a minimum sentence of one year in prison. In practice, UAE courts used this article to convict and sentence people for zina offenses, which included consensual sexual relations outside heterosexual marriage.

National Report Annex:
The concerned stakeholders in the UAE, headed by the General Women's Union (and in cooperation with specialized international organizations), have engaged in developing a strategy for the five coming years, which takes into account the indicators and criteria set out in the Millennium Development Goals and the conventions ratified by the UAE such as the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women It is expected that the strategy will be launched by the end of 2012, so that government institutions at both federal and local levels as well as civil society organizations can develop adequate plans to implement this strategy so as to secure a mechanism to ensure continued efforts to empower women in the area of education, health, economy, social work, legislation, environment, media and political participation.

The General Women's Union issued publications to raise awareness of women's rights and informative pamphlets about different laws. It also maintains ongoing communication with United Nations organizations concerned with women's issues, such as the UN Women, United Nations Development Programme and ESCWA to benefit from international experiences and best practices in the promotion and development of women's rights.

The General Women's Union started the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS4), which is a global household survey program developed by UNICEF which supervises its application. The survey is designed to gather sound data statistics and estimates internationally comparable with key indicators used to assess the status of women and children in the areas of health, education and social protection. The MICS4 survey also provides a tool to monitor progress towards achieving the national goals and global commitments which aim to promote the welfare of women and children, including the MDGs.

The Council of Ministers issued Decision No. 51/4w/2 of 2010 by which it set up the Standing Committee for Universal Periodic Review which is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the periodic review outcome and preparing its review process. The Committee's members are the General Women's Union, which represents women's associations in the country, the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, federal and local government agencies, and a number of civil society institutions in the UAE. This membership represents a real guarantee to ensure the participation of women and women's associations in implementing the results of the universal periodic review and addressing women concerns.

Legislative and legal measures in the UAE tend to eliminate gender discrimination, since the UAE has adopted a number of policies to ensure the advancement of the status of women, their enjoyment of all their constitutional and legal rights, their participation in decision-making and representativeness at the international level. Women in the UAE enjoy high equality rates compared with men in all areas, since women hold 66% of government jobs, 30% of which are senior leadership jobs associated with decision-making, 15% of the teaching staff at the United Arab Emirates University, and about 60% of professional jobs, which include medicine, teaching, pharmacy and nursing, in addition to their enrolment in the armed forces, police and customs.

To ensure equality between women and men in the UAE, Article 32 of the Labour Law provides that "working woman shall be entitled to the same wage as that of a working man, if she does the same work". Similarly, the equality issue in the UAE takes into account the different nature of women that may affect their performance at work compared to men, since legal texts were developed for this purpose in order to preserve women's rights and enable them to better perform their work based on these provisions. Employment of women in hazardous work has been banned under Article 29 of labour Law, whereas Article 27 codified women working hours, especially night hours. The issue of motherhood for working women has been solved by the Council of Ministers Decision No. 19 of 2006, which calls on ministries, government agencies, institutions and departments to establish nurseries if the number of their married females reaches 50.

UN Compilation:
Para 40) CEDAW was concerned that it was still possible for a husband to prohibit his wife from working and to limit her freedom of movement, pursuant to articles 71 and 72 of the Personal Status Law. It urged the United Arab Emirates to repeal those articles without delay and to review any other provisions that impeded women’s free choice of profession and employment.
Para 47) OHCHR stated that issues relating to women’s rights under personal status laws, such as Federal Law No. 28 (2005), remained in need of development, as they continued to fall outside of the provisions of the CEDAW.
Para 48) CEDAW was concerned that the principle of equality of women and men had still not been enshrined in the Constitution and national legislation, and that discrimination against women had not yet been defined in accordance with the CEDAW and prohibited by law.
Para 49) [CEDAW] was particularly concerned about the de jure maintenance of male guardianship of women and girls, the impossibility for an Emirati woman to sign her own marriage contract, the continued practice of dowry, the obligation imposed on a woman to obey her husband, including sexually, the maintenance of polygamy and the limited grounds available to women to seek divorce, while men could unilaterally request a divorce for any reason.
Para 50) CEDAW took note of the 2011 decree granting nationality to children born of Emirati women and foreign fathers upon reaching the age of majority. However, it remained concerned that Emirati women were still denied equality regarding nationality compared with the rights guaranteed to men.
Para 51) [CEDAW] was deeply concerned that a divorced woman lost custody of her daughters when they reached 13 years of age and of her sons when they reached 11 years of age, or even before those ages if she remarried.
Para 52) [CEDAW] noted with serious concern that, in 2010, the Federal Supreme Court had issued a ruling upholding the right of men to chastise their wives and children and that, in 2013, the United Arab Emirates had not accepted the recommendation made during the second cycle of the universal periodic review to repeal article 53 of the Penal Code, which authorized that right. The Committee was also concerned about the slow progress that had been achieved in enacting comprehensive legislation on violence against women.
Para 53) [CEDAW] was concerned about violence against women resulting from the criminalization of consensual sexual relations between adults outside of marriage, under article 356 of the Penal Code, and the use of that article to criminalize women in prostitution and women who were victims of trafficking, sexual exploitation and abuse. It was concerned that, in all those cases, women faced harsh sanctions, such as prison sentences, torture and the death penalty, and inhuman, cruel or degrading punishment in the form of stoning or flogging. It was also concerned that hundreds of women were reportedly serving sentences after being convicted of having sexual intercourse outside of marriage (zina).
Para 54) [CEDAW] was concerned that access to justice by women and girls, including effective legal remedies, was severely hampered by the reluctance to register complaints and the negative attitudes of law enforcement officials towards women denouncing acts of violence committed against them.
Para 55) [CEDAW] was also concerned about the discriminatory treatment of women in courts, especially foreign women, the lack of interpretation services and legal aid and the disproportionately severe sentences imposed on foreign women in criminal court proceedings.
Para 82) CEDAW regretted that, under the new standard contract regulating employment relations between women migrant domestic workers and their employers, women domestic workers might still be required to work 16 hours a day, were not guaranteed a minimum wage, remained excluded from the application of the Labour Code and could still not change employers without running the risk of facing charges of “absconding”. The Committee was concerned that the practice of confiscation of passports by employers remained widespread and prevented women from escaping abusive situations.
Para 83) A group of special procedure mandate holders highlighted that migrant women employed as domestic workers were easy targets for gender-based violence, including sexual violence, beatings, threats and psychological abuse, which was perpetrated with impunity.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 52) HRW stated that discrimination on the basis of sex and gender was not included in the definition of discrimination in the 2015 anti-discrimination law, …
Para 53) GCENR stated that the nationality law discriminated on the basis of gender with regard to the conferral of nationality on non-national spouses. Article 3 enshrined the right of Emirati men to confer nationality on foreign spouses, however, the same right was denied to Emirati women.
Para 54) According to HRW, Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 regulated matters of personal status, and some of its provisions discriminated against women. For instance, the law provided that, for a woman to marry, her male guardian must conclude her marriage contract; men had the right to unilaterally divorce their wives, whereas a woman who wished to divorce her husband must apply for a court order; a woman could lose her right to maintenance if, for example, she refused to have sexual relations with her husband without a lawful excuse; and women were required to “obey” their husbands. A woman might be considered disobedient, with few exceptions, if she decided to work without her husband’s consent.
Para 55) HRW continued that Article 53 of the Penal Code allowed the imposition of “chastisement by a husband to his wife and the chastisement of minor children” so long as the assault did not exceed the limits prescribed by Sharia, or Islamic law. Marital rape was not a crime. Furthermore, in 2010, the Federal Supreme Court issued a ruling—citing the Penal Code—that sanctioned husbands’ beating and inflicting other forms of punishment or coercion on their wives, provided they did not leave physical marks.
Para 56) According to HRW, Article 356 of the Penal Code criminalizing (but not defining) “indecency” provided for a minimum sentence of one year in prison. In practice, UAE courts used this article to convict and sentence people for zina offenses, which included consensual sexual relations outside heterosexual marriage.
Para 66) According to HRW, at least 146,000 female migrant domestic workers were in the UAE for cleaning, cooking, and caring for families. HRW documented a range of abuses against domestic workers, including unpaid wages, confinement to the house, workdays of up to 21 hours with no rest breaks and no days off, and in some cases, employers physically or sexually assaulting them. Domestic workers faced legal and practical obstacles to redress, and many returned home without justice.