Read on TwitterThe biggest takeaways (a thread):
- Alcohol decriminalised
- Suicide decriminalised
- Male relatives no longer get a lighter sentence for assaulting females
- Drinking, possessing or selling alcohol in authorised areas without an alcohol licence is no longer illegal
- Unmarried couples can now live together
- Tougher punishments for men who harass women
- BIG changes to divorce/ separation & divisions of assets & wills & inheritance
- Unmarried couples can now live together
- Tougher punishments for men who harass women
- BIG changes to divorce/ separation & divisions of assets & wills & inheritance
I can& #39;t overstate how huge these changes are - will now break each down below:
This means:
- You no longer need an alcohol licence to buy or drink booze in the UAE - all emirates
- Before now, if you bought or drank alcohol without a license you could be charged (it was rare though)
- Legal drinking age is 21
This means:
- before now, suicide was illegal - people who attempted to kill themselves could be imprisoned/ fined
- also, people who tried to give CPR or first aid etc could be blamed for someone& #39;s injury or death
This means:
- ‘honour crimes’ are abolished - used to be a category of crime where a male relative got a lighter sentence for assaulting a female relative
- these will now be treated like any other assault
1/2
- There will now be harsher punishments for men who harass women, no matter how mild or severe
- The punishment for the rape of a minor or someone with "limited mental capacity" is to be execution
2/2
- The punishment for the rape of a minor or someone with "limited mental capacity" is to be execution
2/2
This means:
- the laws from a person& #39;s country of origin can now be used for divorces and the division of assets
- previously, Islamic law, or sharia, was used for family law cases involving expats
1/2
- Changes also cover wills/ inheritance
- Before, if someone died - assets could be divided under sharia law
- Now, laws from a person& #39;s country or origin applies for how assets are divided among next of kin, unless there& #39;s a will (UAE property an exception-falls under UAE law)
- Before, if someone died - assets could be divided under sharia law
- Now, laws from a person& #39;s country or origin applies for how assets are divided among next of kin, unless there& #39;s a will (UAE property an exception-falls under UAE law)
This means:
- Before now, it was illegal for an unmarried couple (including flatmates of the opposite sex) to share a house
- Those who did could have been penalised, though it was pretty rare
Most of these changes have kind of been the unofficial norm for years. Yes, unmarried couples aren& #39;t supposed to live together - but they do. You& #39;re not supposed to drink alcohol in a bar without a licence - but people do.
But this is good progress, nonetheless
But this is good progress, nonetheless
Here& #39;s the news in article form: https://apnews.com/article/dubai-united-arab-emirates-honor-killings-travel-islam-bce74c423897dc77c7beb72e4f51a23a">https://apnews.com/article/d...
Law doesn’t explicitly permit sex outside of marriage - but says consensual sex will no longer be punished by law
Huge.
