UAE's push to protect women impressive but room to do more, says UN independent expert

Reem Al Salem praises the UAE for hosting the special rapporteur, noting that it demonstrated the country's 'openness to scrutiny'

Reem Al Salem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls. Anjana Sankar / The National

The UAE has made significant strides in women’s empowerment and gender equality, and fulfilled international obligations to protect and promote women’s rights, according to an independent expert from the UN.

Reem Al Salem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, highlighted the country’s progress in enhancing women’s participation in political and economic spheres and combating violence against women and girls.

Ms Al Salam cautioned, however, that there remains a protection gap for some vulnerable women, particularly migrants and domestic workers.

The UN official emphasised that while the UAE ranked seventh globally and first regionally in the UNDP Gender Inequality Index 2024, it could make a "major leap" if it measures were taken to ensure government protection reached non-Emirati women.

Ms Al Salem made the remarks during a press conference in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, following her 10-day visit to assess the situation of violence against women and girls in the country and to offer recommendations for prevention and response.

During her visit, Ms Al Salem, a Jordanian independent consultant and former civil servant, travelled to several emirates, meeting with government officials, international and civil society organisations, academics, and private businesses. She is set to present a full report on her findings to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2025.

Ms Al Salem praised the UAE for hosting the special rapporteur, noting that it demonstrated the country's "openness to scrutiny" and its interest in evolving and improving. While the special rapporteur’s recommendations are not legally binding, Ms Al Salem expressed hope that they would help guide improvements in women’s rights and protection policies.

In her preliminary findings, Ms Al Salem said she was impressed by the awareness of stakeholders about these issues and the extent to which gender equality has been integrated into governance and daily life in the UAE.

She also commended several key pieces of legislation, such as the Child Rights (Wadeema) Law, Domestic Workers Law, and the Human Trafficking Law, which promote gender equality and protect women and girls from violence.

Protection gaps for non-Emiratis

The UN expert identified protection gaps for non-Emirati women, particularly migrant workers and expatriates.

“For instance, the government provides housing for a victim of domestic violence. But that is offered only for Emirati women,” Ms Al Salem said.

Likewise, various social initiatives aimed at increasing the financial independence of women, which will in turn empower them to report abuses, as well as access to capital for income generation opportunities are also often limited to Emirati citizens, she noted.

While safeguards and protection may be “officially available for non-Emirati women victims of violence," she said language barriers, a fear of reporting, and legal status as migrants pose challenges.

She recommended a more “standardised and harmonised” approach to “ensure better access of all women, notably the most vulnerable and the non-Emirati population, and scale up outreach, and community-based grass roots initiatives such as women-only social centres".

“Moreover, I believe more could be done to ensure federal laws are systematically interpreted and applied in a coherent manner by the authorities in different Emirates."

Lack of data on violence against women

Another issue highlighted by Ms Al Salem was the lack of consolidated data on violence against women. In her preliminary report, she noted that the police in the UAE had documented 38 cases of rape, 53 cases of gender-based violence, and 14 cases of physical abuse committed against women and girls.

However, these statistics were not yet broken down by nationality, type of crime, the emirate in which the crime occurred, or the profile of the perpetrator, she said. Ms Al Salem stated that this lack of detailed data makes it difficult to fully assess the effectiveness of the justice system in handling cases of violence against women cases. “But I hope, in the coming days, when I get access to data on the number and nature of cases referred to courts as well as the conviction rates, I will be able to make recommendations in my report,” she added.

One of Ms Al Salem’s key recommendations was to offer institutional protection to women in prostitution, treating them as victims.

“Women in prostitution should be treated always as victims,” Ms Al Salem said, quoting from the recommendations she made in her 2024 report to the Human Rights Council.