Why an awards ceremony in the UAE has made global headlines

The United Arab Emirates has become a global laughing-stock after authorities shared this “tone deaf” photograph on social media.

A photo of an official-looking awards ceremony has gone viral after social media users noticed a glaring issue with the event.

The pictures, taken at the Gender Balance Index awards, were shared by authorities from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the weekend.

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The awards were designed to encourage gender equality in the workplace, and they were handed out by UAE vice president and Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

But it didn’t take long for Twitter users to notice the awards were won entirely by men.

. @HHShkMohd honors the winners of the Gender Balance Index 2018. The Index features three categories: Best Personality for Supporting Gender Balance, Best Federal Entity for Supporting Gender Balance, and the Best Initiative for Supporting Gender Balance. #UAE pic.twitter.com/qE5GkYHzTo

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) January 27, 2019

Winners included the UAE’s deputy prime minister and minister of interior, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was recognised for his work in introducing a maternity leave policy to the military.

He was celebrated as the “best personality supporting gender balance”, while fellow winners included Dubai’s deputy ruler and finance minister Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, minister of human resources and Emiratisation Nasser bin Thani al-Hamli and the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority director general Abdulla Nasser Lootah.

According to Al Jazeera, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum praised the importance of women in the Arabian Peninsula nation without acknowledging the elephant in the room.

“Gender balance has become a pillar in our governmental institutions,” the organisation reported him as saying, adding women were “central to shaping the future of the country”.

The photos, shared on Twitter on January 27 by the Dubai Media Office, immediately went viral, attracting hundreds of likes, retweets and sarcastic comments.

I think there’s a key concept related to “gender balance” that you’re not getting. #WhereAreTheWomen #WhyIWontVisitDubai

— Heather Reid (@hjreid) January 28, 2019

In a follow-up tweet the following day, the office posted: “We are proud of the success of Emirati women and their role is central to shaping the future of the country. Gender balance has become a pillar in our governmental institutions.”

“Is the sarcasm translating correctly?” one Twitter user asked, while another said the situation was “beyond parody” and others asked whether the account had been hacked by satirical news site The Onion.

“How to make yourselves a laughing stock in the eyes of the world...... well done Dubai,” another Twitter user wrote, while another added: “I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you, but you forgot to invite WOMEN.”

You’re having a laugh right?

— David Balfour (@DavidBalfou) January 28, 2019

The awards were created to celebrate the government’s progress in meeting its own gender participation targets.

The latest furore comes just months after a damming 2018 Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights report highlighted the UAE’s worrying track record regarding the treatment of female citizens as well as discrimination faced by foreign workers and the torture of prisoners.

The report also revealed men in the Gulf state were still able to stop their wives from working or moving freely.

It also comes after neighbour Saudi Arabia began issuing its first driving licences to women last year following a historic ban.

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