Prostitution is a subject that officials in the United Arab Emirates do not want to talk about. Officially, prostitution does not even exist in the U. But in fact, prostitution is a multimillion-dollar industry there. Many of the women involved have traveled or been brought to the U. And many say they suffer abuse and other difficulties in the emirate's sex trade.
Search Search. Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan. Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia. Afghanistan Pakistan. Belarus Ukraine. Previous Next. July 02, GMT. By Peyman Pejman. Dubai City, U. She says she was approached by one of her female supervisors with a blunt offer -- to go to the United Arab Emirates U. She agreed. She was 19 years old and a virgin. In an interview recently in Dubai City, Katarina said she accepted the offer because, at the time, she had no boyfriend in Uzbekistan, her family was poor, morality was not an issue, and it was only a short trip.
Katarina says an Uzbek woman in the U. Then, in a practice common among these "sponsors," she promptly took Katarina's passport to ensure that she did not run away.
He just sat with me and did not do anything. The next day we went to another one, but he too did not do anything. He paid 30, dirhams. After two months I was brought back [to the first customer], and I lost my virginity," Katarina said. Katarina says the first two times the men sensed that she was not ready and decided not to be aggressive. There are an estimated 2, prostitutes working in Dubai.
Many are brought from abroad, often against their will, and sometimes suffering abuse in the process. The latest U. State Department report on human trafficking, released in June, sharply criticizes the U. The report says: "The United Arab Emirates is a destination country for men, women, and children trafficked primarily from South and East Asia and the former Soviet Union for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation.
