Dress Modestly, Dubai Filipino Group Urges

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When Ibrahim Robel Beltran asked a scantily clad woman to cover up on the first day of Ramadan, it did not go down well.

The woman was walking with her husband near Lamcy Plaza, wearing a miniskirt and low-cut sleeveless top. Mr Beltran, the administrator of the Dubai branch of Sangguniang Masang Pilipino International (Council of the Filipino Masses), was taking part in the council’s annual campaign to remind people about Ramadan rules.

“We discreetly told her to dress more appropriately,” he said, “but her husband got angry at us.”

Ram Flores, the group’s consultant, got much the same reaction in Satwa when he asked a group of women not to wear very short shorts, miniskirts, spaghetti strap tops, and sleeveless blouses.

“They got really offended,” he said. “Their male companions asked why we were singling them out.”

Mr Flores insists he had no intention to humiliate anyone.

Council members have handed out 5,000 leaflets to Filipinos in Satwa, Karama and Deira, and spoken to people about do’s and don’ts during the Holy Month. Although some people were upset, others were pleased to receive the advice, said Mr Flores.

Roy Silvano, the group’s founder, had an easier time handing out flyers in the Karama, Dubai and Deira districts.

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