04 June, 2006

Is it illegal to sit in a car with a lady?

'Emirates Evening Post' a seemingly obscure newspaper, with a not-so-remarkable editorial content, has again raised some uncomfortable questions, albeit unintentionally through their 'Ask your Lawyer' column.
A man and a woman, not legally related(can be friends, colleagues etc) are "not supposed to sit together in a car, or go for movies, or to restaurants etc.. " says the matter-of-fact lawyer to a bizarre question.
Wonder why some half-dressed male and female models clinging together in a showroom opening of an international brand as seen on a popular newspaper doesnt make the cut.

15 comments:

grapeshisha said...

I once got stopped in Sharjah. I was asked to prove that the lady sitting next to me was indeed my wife. Our drivers licences showed the same surnames, but the policeman was not convinced, asked me to get out of the car, searched me, the trunk (probably for booze), then, because he couldn't find anything to do me for, told my wife to cover herself up with a shawl, even though she was dressed very conservatively. At some point during the whole interrogation, because of the way they were both looking at me, I thought of Rodney King. Question - how else do you prove that you are married, apart from carrying around two birth certificates, a marriage certificate and passports? I no longer go to Sharjah.

Anonymous said...

I love reading the Evening Post since they are the only ones who ethically cover stories in this market without being biased either ways. I'm surprised that someone who finds the newspaper "obscure" with "not-so-remarkable content" took the trouble of going through the newspaper, found the 'Ask the Lawyer column' buried right towards the end of the paper and then even went to the extent of scanning and posting the page on this blog! Well, I have no problems with someone disliking the newspaper, but this is plain dumb.

Woke said...

Obscure doesnt mean the quality is bad. It has limited readership because the content is geared mainly towards Indians as is evident from the content.
The quality of content is questionable too, considering the amount of mistakes and below par editorial content especially compared to Gulf News.
I do read Evening Post very often because it contains articles (like labour issues) that other newspapers refrain from publishing which is impressive and it was not my intention to portray that I disliked the newspaper.
Ok, who else reads Evening Post here? I need a third opinion :D

secretdubai said...

Come and arrest me!

I fully confess to have sat in restaurants, cars and cinemas with unrelated males, both in groups and as a couple.

Oh - and guess what? I've never been married, but I'd most probably fail the H-test.

So come on and arrest me. Jail me. Deport me. Nothing would cause me - or the UK tabloids - greater delight.

And then you might want to start asking all those tourists in hotels and beaches and nightclubs if they all hold marriage certificates as well.

Samawel said...

Speaking of that... I just got back from Sharjah. For about 2 hours and a half, I was hanging around with 3 female friends, and I was one of the two males in the group.

Oddly enough, having hugged two since I haven't see either of them for a long time, and getting a peck on the cheek from one, _don't ask._ (At that point, I expected something would go wrong--It always seems to do. I've had weird experiences with police officers and ununiformed officers.) With all that having had happened, I've gotten a couple of looks from some folks, but not so much as trouble. Which is the odd thing.

Woke said...

See you in jail secretdubai and samawel. Im looking forward to staying in Dubai without paying the monumental rent.

secretdubai said...

And next time MISS Naomi Campbell arrives at the Burj with her "boyfriend", perhaps they should take a long hard look at the interior of her vagina, if they're going to continue persecuting common people for their private business.

snow white said...

This is an excuse not to come into work if ever I heard one. Actually, think I might use it to down tools on multiple occasions.

Bu3askoor said...

Dubai is being built as business and tourism hub. With this law being in effect, many business meetings and trade shows are then illegal. If this law is widely practiced then Dubai will fail miserably in these two domains.

The law is meant to protect women in the first place from rape and harassment.

The law should allow the woman to establish a "trust" link with her companion, and there won't be a reason for a trial. But i guess hookers can use this and many housewives won't be happy :D

(Islamic clerks should talk about this issue. And NO i do not mean the "one" that tried to close the women shelter)

bandicoot said...

You people are getting carried away in reaction to some stupid advice from a shady lawyer in an obscure local newspaper and anecdotal stories of weird police (or morality) officers from the dry land of Sharjah harassing some unlucky couples! If the authorities of this country start arresting and deporting unrelated males and females caught together in public, they're going to need much larger jails and bigger airports. The only ‘benefit’ of this harsh measure would be to help alleviate the current traffic problem!

Anonymous said...

off the top of my head i can think of two VVVVVVV.i.p.s. that made very public spectacles of themselves being 'together' at public functions in the uae. she wasn't married. he was married...but not to her.

Woke said...

bandicoot...the incident happened in Dubai as per the column.
Sharjah is another world altogether. :D

Anonymous said...

Regarding Emirates Evening Post ...I have to second the opinion of "Woke." Reading the EEP is an exercise in hilarity. The quality of the writing is laughable and the subbing is non-existent. Not that it's the only shoddy UAE paper. They are all crap. You only have to pick up a New York Times or Wall Street Journal to figure that out.

Anonymous said...

whomever had written commints about this you do not like Dubai or U.A.E Go home simply leave us alone

Anonymous said...

Women shelter is already closed sweet abu askoor.. villa 67 is next

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