Ask Ali: Dress-code enforcement is a complicated matter in the UAE

Dear Ali: I have lived in Dubai for a few years now, and I used to quite often go to the malls in the city. There are signs when you enter saying that people, especially women, should not wear clothes that are too tight, sleeveless or too short, to respect the culture and the people who live here. But, unfortunately, most of the time, I see the opposite. I want to ask you, as an Emirati, what do you think about those expats who don't respect these rules? SA, Dubai

Dear SA: I would love to salute your respect for our culture.

In just three decades, our beloved country has become one of the most developed in the GCC and the Middle East. It has also achieved great popularity in the world by building the tallest, most unique and beautiful buildings and places that attract millions every year. And we welcome all.

In the UAE, our traditions and customs still remain as a result of our complete trust in them. When so many people with different cultural backgrounds flocked to the UAE, it became a task for us to find a proper way of delivering the message about our traditional codes and to make people coming to us from all over the world understand, accept, appreciate and respect our culture.

To avoid misunderstanding, we try to advise anybody visiting a public place of the various ways to wear “respectful” clothes.

Each mall has its own method. Some started to give away cards with information in different languages; others placed mall security to spot those who cross the limits and advise them of an up-to-standard outfit. But the major effect must be made by our multinational society itself, who appreciate, protect and announce our cultural norms among each other.

We live in a unique place, where people stand together in supporting our values. All of these standards and rules make our society more civilised and safer. Who would disagree that we all love seeing clean, respectfully dressed people around us, regardless of their relation to any culture?

However, we can’t force anyone to dress the way that we like, unless the person shows clear disrespect to the culture and its people – for instance cross-dressing, which is forbidden here.

I always hope that we can reach that mutual understanding and respect, which will make us live together in happiness and peace.

There are many examples that have been demonstrated by the relevant authorities who monitor this matter, but at the same time they try to be as patient and polite as possible, so as not to bother the visitors and those who don’t follow these guidelines – but it might not be enough.

We probably need more clarification by these authorities on why we continue to see such behaviour in our society and if there is any chance to overcome it before it’s really too late.

Again, living in a very open society that continues to show respect to all 200 nationalities that live in the UAE is a challenging task to keep an eye on all the time, but I have to say that our Government and the responsible authorities are doing their best to offer the best balance of an international lifestyle while still respecting and appreciating the conservative side of our local culture.

We should continue to have good intentions towards all those who “mistakenly” disrespect our culture, and try our best to raise awareness, so that those people know how important it is to consider wearing more-modest clothing.

I’m sure that we offer everyone from a different background a great lifestyle and respect their culture – and, in return, we hope that those people will also appreciate our culture and show great respect to it.

Ali Al Saloom is a cultural adviser and public speaker from the UAE. Follow @AskAli on Twitter, and visit www.ask-ali.com to ask him a question.

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