Human Rights Watch (HRW) has condemned authorities in the United Arab Emirates for “arbitrarily arresting transgender, gay, and gender non-conforming people on the grounds of a law that criminalises men ‘disguising’ as women”.
The group have pointed to the recent arrest of two Singaporean nationals who were picked up by the tourism police for ‘indecent behaviour’ and wearing female clothing.
Transgender woman Nur Qistina Fitriah Ibrahim (known as Fifi) and her friend Fadli Bin Abdul Rahman were walking around the Yas shopping mall in Abu Dhabi on August 8.
“I was wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt, long black pants and a pair of sneakers. Fifi (Nur) was wearing pants and a checkered shirt. We were not wearing dresses or were in women’s clothing,” Fadli told Yahoo.
HRW reports that while the pair was detained, their luggage was ransacked, their heads were shaved and Fifi’s hormone pills were thrown away.
“Shaving my head – that was the most devastating part for me,” Fifi told Human Rights Watch.
Friends and family of the pair swiftly set up an emergency crowdfunding campaign for legal fees to launch an appeal after they were sentenced to one year in prison.
Judges on the appeal panel asked whether Fifi and Fadli had been wearing wigs or dresses before delivering the verdict.
“They laughed and told us that we were going to be deported,” Fadli told Yahoo.
“We were escorted to the airport, but we were still shackled. They only removed once we got to the (departure) gate…We were so relieved to be on the flight.”
Sarah Leah Whitson from HRW said of the case: “It’s bad enough that the UAE is arresting people solely on the basis of hairstyles and accessories, which the police rely on to make wild guesses about people’s gender identities.”
“Worse, the authorities are going far beyond the letter of the law, which only applies to spaces designated for women – not shopping malls.”
