julie arthurs

The head of Dubai Police has revealed that a Ferrari will be the latest patrol supercar to hit Dubai roads in the coming days. Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan bin Tamim took to Twitter yesterday and tweeted: “Soon Ferrari will join #Dubai_Police fleet”. He added to 7DAYS that “Dubai is a unique city which has its own unique character and everything in it must express this unique character, including police patrols.” Last week Dubai Police launched Lamborghini patrol cars, which will patrol tourist areas such as JBR and around Burj Khalifa. The force said they were introduced to show how “classy” Dubai is.

I reckon the women officers will not be driving the Ferraris. Perhaps they could propose that the junior women officers wear the Chanel handbag and Stella McCartney footwear, while adorning the more senior women officers the Hermes Birkin bag with Louboutin heels. Law enforcement has never been so sexy.

Human trafficking for prostitution is a disgusting and unthinkable thing. Nearly every day there is a blurb in the first part of 7DAYS about at least one such case. I wonder how they choose which case to report on that day as there must be so many.

But the interesting thing about these reports is that they always state the sex and nationalities of the offenders along with the victims because the paper is allowed to. So I decided to keep track, just to see if a reporting pattern emerges here.

15 April 2013 – charged: 3 Bangladeshi men, victim: 1 Bangladeshi woman, 22 years old (promised job as housemaid)

Body of young woman found at home – by Ismail Sebugwaawo, Monday April 15, 2013

A woman is believe to have hanged herself over problems with her relatives. Ras Al Khaimah Police said yesterday that the body of the 22-year-old Emirati was found hanging from a ceiling fan at her family home in Mamourah. Colonel Salim Yusuf Al Zaabi, head of Al Mamourah Police Station, said the victim was found by relatives, who called the authorities. Officers removed the woman’s body from the house and it was taken to a hospital.

Al Zaabi said forensic experts have taken fingerprints and other evidence from the scene to investigate the death, however have so far found no signs of foul play. Police said investigations into the case are ongoing but initially they are treating the woman’s death as a suicide. Al Zaabi said investigations have revealed there had been misunderstandings between the woman and members of her family, which might have prompted her to take her life. However, no details of the nature of the problems were given.

In a separate incident, an Asian housemaid was found hanged from the roof of a cattle barn at her employer’s home in Masafi, Fujairah. Police said the boss found the woman hanging when she went to check on the livestock. The maid had allegedly gave birth at her employer’s home five months ago. Fujairah Police said they are treating the case as suicide, but no reason has so far been released as to why the housemaid, who has two children, committed suicide. Police urged those considering taking their life to seek help from religious scholars and be patient.

JA summary: A woman hanged herself and she was only 22 and Emirati. Tragic, but I am not sure why this private matter is published in the paper. As a kind of footnote, in a separate Emirate even, a maid was found hanged. She had 2 kids and had given birth five months ago… at the farm house of her employers??? If only these women had sought help from an older, male religious scholar and had been patient they might just have been saved.