Tricked and Trapped: Human Trafficking in the Middle East, ‎pdf 4.1 MB

By contrast, the Arab nightclubs offer live local music and employ women
from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia. A sex worker
interviewed stated that the Jordanian women employed come from many
regions of the country, including Amman, Karak and Irbid, and that “most
of the clients are Jordanian and men from the Gulf”. An employer based in
Aqaba, Jordan, described the clientele as being “locals, tourists and Saudis,
who can easily cross the border which is 20 kilometres away from Aqaba”. 130
In the UAE there is no specific visa for artists. The Government does, however,
allow nightclubs and bars to operate. There are nightclubs for specific ethnic
communities and also entertainment venues that cater for a more diverse,
eclectic clientele from around the world. “There are two types of shows,”
explained one client: “the first are dancing shows, where you find mostly
women from India, Pakistan and Nepal. These clubs are closed, and restricted
to familiar users. The second option consists of nightclubs, where you can
find Russians, Filipinos, South Africans, and Ukrainians. Discos are open to
everyone and the interactions with the girls are easy. You choose the girls you
like and then you go to a hotel.” 131 One study on Dubai offers the following
account:
The nightlife scene in Dubai has grown more diverse and sophisticated – as well as
more base – to cater to all tastes. Before the late 1990s, clubs did not cater to the
younger well-heeled set of tourists and expatriates, as there were not many of them
to cater to. But, as the population and economy have grown, and as the numbers
of hotels and tourists have grown, so too have the number and quality of clubs,
which in turn lure more tourists and expatriate residents from all over, not just
Westerners. 132
Whereas in Lebanon, Jordan and the UAE there is an established
entertainment industry, in Kuwait nightclubs and bars are forbidden. The
Kuwaiti sex industry is therefore conducted entirely underground, and
prostitution is carried out in private apartments, hotels and coffee shops. As
one migrant community leader commented, “in Kuwait, prostitution is not
on the same scale as in Dubai as there are no nightclubs. People use private
apartments or houses in Hawalli and Salmiya.” 133 A client gave more details:
“There are many coffee shops with private cabins, it’s fast, takes five minutes
and is over. There are also rented apartments. Some women are willing to go
to your place, but it’s more expensive this way.” 134
130
Interview with an employer, Jordan, 12 Nov. 2011.
131
Interview with a client of nightclubs, UAE, 27 Jan. 2012.
132
S. Ali: Dubai: Gilded cage (New Haven, Yale University Press, 2010), p. 45.
133
Interview with an official of a migrant association, Kuwait, 30 Mar. 2012.
134
Interview with a client of sex workers, Kuwait, 30 Mar. 2012.
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