Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06DUBAI1847
2006-03-28 10:32:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Dubai
how-toVZCZCXRO3955 RR RUEHDE DE RUEHDE #1847 0871032 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 281032Z MAR 06 FM AMCONSUL DUBAI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9517 INFO RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 1393 RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 2447 RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS DUBAI 001847
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR G/TIP, INL, DRL, NEA/RA AND NEA/ARP
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI AE
SUBJECT: DUBAI SHELTER NOT CLOSING
REF: A. DUBAI 01455, B. ABU DHABI 00440
SUMMARY: Activist Sharla Musabih refuted press reports that
Dubai's only independent women's shelter will be close down. The
Dubai Police continue to support Musabih's work and Musabih
claims the shelter now operates within the rules of Dubai
Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Services (DDIACS).
Ambassador registered USG concern over the shelter's future with
the UAE Minister of Social Affairs. End Summary
Dubai Shelter
--------------
2. (SBU) Local activist Sharla Musabih refuted local press
reports that the shelter she runs in Dubai will be closed down.
The March 24 edition of the Gulf News, an English language
daily, reported that the Dubai Municipality was ordering the
villa closed due to neighbors' complaints and zoning violations.
It also reported that the UAE Ministry of Justice warned Musabih
against illegally housing women. However, the March 24 edition
of the English language Khaleej Times reported that the Dubai
Municipality had no information as to whether a notice of
eviction had been sent to Musabih.
3. (SBU) Musabih told PolEconOff March 25 that she is the victim
of what she describes as a "smear campaign" orchestrated by the
estranged husband of a Syrian woman who is living in the
shelter. Musabih said she had contacted the commander of Dubai
Police's CID, Brigadier Khamees Mathar Al Masseeri for help.
According to Musabih, Al Masseeri promised to contact the
Ministry of Justice and the local papers to convey his support
for her activities.
Musabih's Shelter Operating Within DDIA Rules
--------------
4. (SBU) Musabih said she had recently submitted documents
detailing the operation of the shelter that DDIACS had earlier
requested (ref A). Juma Obaid Al Falasi, Assistant
Director-General of Charitable Services Affairs at DDIACS, then
indicated to her that she and her shelter were now operating
within DDIACS's rules (ref B).
USG Registers Concerns Over Shelter
--------------
5. (SBU) During a March 26 meeting with UAE Minister of Social
Affairs, Mariam al-Roumi, Ambassador registered the USG's
concern about Musabih and the shelter being attacked by a
conservative element that believes that sheltering battered
women encourages women in troubled marriages to leave their
husbands and could lead to a breakdown in family values (ref A).
Al-Roumi responded that she was aware of one husband who blamed
her Ministry for the fact that his wife had sought shelter with
Musabih. She told the husband that the Ministry does not license
Musabih's shelter, but that "even if the Ministry did license
the shelter, it would not be the Ministry's job to interfere. It
is between the husband, the wife, and possibly the police."
A Wide Range of Victims Sheltered
--------------
6. (SBU) According to Musabih, the shelter, opened in 2001,
assisted approximately 100 women and children in 2005. During
the year, the reasons people sought shelter changed. In the
first half of 2005, the largest groups of women seeking shelter
were Uzbeks and Moldovans who had been trafficked to the UAE.
The numbers of trafficked women fell off in the second half of
2005, when there was an increase in the proportion of homeless
women or victims of domestic violence. Musabih commented that
Dubai's skyrocketing rents were hurting the most vulnerable of
all nationalities. Among her current tenants are an Emirati
divorcee and her two children who had lost their home.
DAVIS
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR G/TIP, INL, DRL, NEA/RA AND NEA/ARP
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI AE
SUBJECT: DUBAI SHELTER NOT CLOSING
REF: A. DUBAI 01455, B. ABU DHABI 00440
SUMMARY: Activist Sharla Musabih refuted press reports that
Dubai's only independent women's shelter will be close down. The
Dubai Police continue to support Musabih's work and Musabih
claims the shelter now operates within the rules of Dubai
Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Services (DDIACS).
Ambassador registered USG concern over the shelter's future with
the UAE Minister of Social Affairs. End Summary
Dubai Shelter
--------------
2. (SBU) Local activist Sharla Musabih refuted local press
reports that the shelter she runs in Dubai will be closed down.
The March 24 edition of the Gulf News, an English language
daily, reported that the Dubai Municipality was ordering the
villa closed due to neighbors' complaints and zoning violations.
It also reported that the UAE Ministry of Justice warned Musabih
against illegally housing women. However, the March 24 edition
of the English language Khaleej Times reported that the Dubai
Municipality had no information as to whether a notice of
eviction had been sent to Musabih.
3. (SBU) Musabih told PolEconOff March 25 that she is the victim
of what she describes as a "smear campaign" orchestrated by the
estranged husband of a Syrian woman who is living in the
shelter. Musabih said she had contacted the commander of Dubai
Police's CID, Brigadier Khamees Mathar Al Masseeri for help.
According to Musabih, Al Masseeri promised to contact the
Ministry of Justice and the local papers to convey his support
for her activities.
Musabih's Shelter Operating Within DDIA Rules
--------------
4. (SBU) Musabih said she had recently submitted documents
detailing the operation of the shelter that DDIACS had earlier
requested (ref A). Juma Obaid Al Falasi, Assistant
Director-General of Charitable Services Affairs at DDIACS, then
indicated to her that she and her shelter were now operating
within DDIACS's rules (ref B).
USG Registers Concerns Over Shelter
--------------
5. (SBU) During a March 26 meeting with UAE Minister of Social
Affairs, Mariam al-Roumi, Ambassador registered the USG's
concern about Musabih and the shelter being attacked by a
conservative element that believes that sheltering battered
women encourages women in troubled marriages to leave their
husbands and could lead to a breakdown in family values (ref A).
Al-Roumi responded that she was aware of one husband who blamed
her Ministry for the fact that his wife had sought shelter with
Musabih. She told the husband that the Ministry does not license
Musabih's shelter, but that "even if the Ministry did license
the shelter, it would not be the Ministry's job to interfere. It
is between the husband, the wife, and possibly the police."
A Wide Range of Victims Sheltered
--------------
6. (SBU) According to Musabih, the shelter, opened in 2001,
assisted approximately 100 women and children in 2005. During
the year, the reasons people sought shelter changed. In the
first half of 2005, the largest groups of women seeking shelter
were Uzbeks and Moldovans who had been trafficked to the UAE.
The numbers of trafficked women fell off in the second half of
2005, when there was an increase in the proportion of homeless
women or victims of domestic violence. Musabih commented that
Dubai's skyrocketing rents were hurting the most vulnerable of
all nationalities. Among her current tenants are an Emirati
divorcee and her two children who had lost their home.
DAVIS