Dubai is ‘very unsafe’ for women going through marital breakdown, says human rights advocate

Ireland’s travel advice for Dubai is “insufficient” and “should be increased” to ensure visitors, particularly women, understand the reality of dealing with the authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a human rights advocate has said.

Radha Stirling, who assisted Tori Towey and her family in seeking help from Government officials about the charges she faced in Dubai, warned that many western people move to the UAE for work without an appreciation of how cases of domestic abuse or marital breakdown are dealt with by police there.

“Women need to be aware that Dubai is a very unsafe place when you’re having a marital breakdown,” said Ms Stirling during an X Spaces discussion with Ms Towey on Friday about her recent ordeal in Dubai.

People of all nationalities and backgrounds “will use and manipulate the law in Dubai to their advantage” in relation to personal relationships, financial issues and even car rental scams, she said.

Even a text message to your husband using “rude language” can result in criminal prosecution under UAE law, said Ms Stirling, founder of the Detained in Dubai legal support group. “It’s really difficult to tell people how they can be safe going to Dubai. I do believe that the travel warnings should be increased on the Irish Embassy website, they’re insufficient.”

[ ‘I’m just so relieved’: Tori Towey arrives home after charges dropped in DubaiOpens in new window ]

Ms Towey, who lived and worked in Dubai for more than a year as an Emirates Airlines flight attendant, arrived in Ireland on Thursday after she was prevented from leaving Dubai following charges of attempted suicide and illegally consuming alcohol by authorities in the UAE. The Dáil heard this week that the Co Roscommon woman (28) had suffered sustained domestic violence and abuse since marrying in March.

Ms Towey recalled during the online discussion that a police officer “started pointing and laughing at me” the first time she sought help from the authorities after alleging she had been beaten.

“My forehead is completely swollen, my shirt is ripped, I have blood and bruises everywhere and he came in and started pointing and laughing at me,” she said. “He was like, ‘what happened to you, did you hit your head on the ground when you were praying’?”

[ Behind the luxury image, Dubai’s laws and customs create issues for expatriatesOpens in new window ]

Ms Towey also recalled being brought to the police station rather than a hospital following her suicide attempt, having been briefly treated by paramedics in her home. “They made me blow into this thing, took my finger prints and then I called my mother because I was hysterical. I was like, ‘I’m in a police station and I don’t know why I’m here’,” she said.

She alleged she was “strip-searched” and that police “ripped out” her belly button ring in an aggressive manner. “They don’t speak to you, they don’t tell you what is happening.”

Ms Towey says she was then brought into a corridor filled with “individual cells and mattresses on the floor” where she stayed overnight. The brightly lit room was, she said, filled with women from Nigeria, the Philippines, Belarus, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and India.

“I do think there is this class system in Dubai where people from different countries are treated slightly better than others. It may be one of the reasons why I was released faster, because of where I’m from.”

A statement from the Dubai government said it had “closed the case involving” Ms Towey after she and “her husband, a South African national, were involved in a case featuring mutual charges of assault, dating back to May 2024″.

“Dubai Public Prosecution has also dropped the charges of attempted suicide against her considering the circumstances of the case and to enable her to return to normal life,” it said.