In total disregard to women's rights violations, EU delegation hails UAE's "commitments" to women's rights

A British parliamentary delegation headed by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh SNP MP visited the UAE Federal National Council in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

During the visit, the delegation members hailed the UAE's "commitments" to women's rights in total disregard to the escalated violations and ongoing breaches to the international laws for women's rights.

Arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, unfair trials, deportations, and revocation of citizenships are among the tactics the UAE authorities regularly deploy to silence dissident voices including dozens of female activists.

This week, 33-year-old Amina Abdouli is scheduled to appear before the Supreme Federal Court on charges related to her activities on Twitter. 

The case of Amina Abdouli's family is not uncommon. Last year, three sisters were forcibly disappeared by the authorities, and spent three months in secret detention for campaigning on Twitter in support of their jailed brother, a prisoner of conscience convicted in the UAE94 trial.

On 2 July 2013, the State Security Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi convicted 69 human rights defendants and sentenced them to between 7 and 15 years in jail including 10 women.

Some of the most striking effects of this crackdown have played out among families. Relatives of government critics routinely suffer the consequences of their family members’ online activities.

The campaigning organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) has also highlighted the problems women in the United Arab Emirates can face if they become embroiled in a legal dispute with their husband.

Human Rights Watch accused the authorities in the UAE – home to large numbers of British expats – of “failing to respond adequately to reports of domestic violence”.

HRW said it is aware of complaints from a number of expatriate women who say their reports of domestic violence to police in the UAE were not taken seriously.