My take on UAE's new legal reforms for @Independent

Key points:
- announcement likely to lure tourists and foreign investment back as the country faces a mass exodus of foreign labour
- UAE wants to be a beacon of moderate Islam in the Middle East

1/5 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/uae-alcohol-marriage-reform-economy-b1720500.html

- New allowances for consensual sex could go some way to helping repeal archaic rape laws, where women can't report rape as it's considered sex before marriage
- No mention of LGBTQ rights, abortion or pregnancy out of wedlock
2/5

- Decriminalisation of alcohol & co-habitation reforms will also impact family law
- While drinking alcohol or living together while unmarried is unlikely to get a person penalised as an isolated offence, it's often used as ammunition in divorce cases

3/5

“People didn’t want to go to court for issues with their children, as they drink or live with someone not married & no one wants to risk that criminality. It was an impediment for people to access the justice system, becoming the bigger issue than what they needed help with”

4/5

- Emirati analyst believes the reforms has been a long time coming, local population is on board & there is more to come
- "This brings the country up to international standards"
- UK expert on GCC believes announcement could've come as knee-jerk reaction to Biden presidency

5/5