News Corp is a network of leading companies in the worlds of diversified media, news, education, and information services. MIDNIGHT in a crowded bar and prostitutes in short skirts and skyscraper heels are blatantly touting for trade — they do not have to wait long. But this sleazy transaction is not taking place in some brothel in Eastern Europe — this is DUBAI , where the strict Islamic religion forbids holding hands in public, where homosexuality is illegal and sharing a bedroom outside marriage will get you banged up.
Shockingly, there are 30, prostitutes working in Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates. Local women outside may be hidden from public view in burkhas, but inside the late-night venues are scantily clad call girls of every shape, size, nationality and ethnicity. Some provide a free buffet and drinks vouchers for the working girls and others rent them regular rooms because of the big-spending clientele they bring in.
That shocks some people when I tell them. Dubai gives the impression of being a safe holiday hot spot with its plush hotels, sandy beaches and — thanks to its strict Islamic religion — very little crime, alcohol or sex. But behind the windowless bars and clubs, prostitutes are busy plying their trade. You can see escorts of all nationalities working here. It is so blatant, every hotel you go to you will see girls sitting at the bars alone, dressed like a million dollars.
But whatever floats your boat can be found in Dubai and sex for cash is widely available. Working girls usually meet up with their wealthy clients in hotels. Laura, 30, spent a summer escorting there after a friend mentioned how much money she could make. Working girls are part of the culture, even though it is officially illegal. Some girls see four or five men on an evening.
The sheikhs tend to sit apart from the women, but keep a watchful eye over the financial exchanges. In some hotels there are around five girls to every guy. You have to assume that every girl here is an escort, because the vast majority of them are. They flout the law and risk prison because there is so much to be made from selling sex.
