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I took this picture yesterday when I was driving just for the heck of it. [Well not really, i posted it up on facebook]. I've lived in UAE since I was born so I'm fairly used to the heat but every time Summer comes and the temperatures start rising up it still takes a little getting used to at first. And it's the numbers which are usually the take of the town. 

'What's the temperature today?' 50? Did it go higher than 50?'

I'm sure it actually goes higher than 50 a lot of the time but the official temperature somehow stays '49'. 

I read this article in the The National yesterday and it claimed Emirati Men shun Women who study abroad:

DUBAI // Emirati women are having second thoughts about studying abroad for fear that being perceived as “westernised” will damage their chances of finding a husband back home.

Emirati women, men and parents who were interviewed by The National said society considered women who had studied in the West to be undignified, damaging their chances of attracting an Emirati spouse.

Such perceptions, whether valid or not, tend to lead young Emiratis, as well as their parents, to question themselves and their motives carefully before going abroad for an average of four years. They feel that they may lose their culture and heritage while being educated in a foreign country. 

This sparked a very interesting discussion with my Emirati and Non-Emirati khaleejy friends. Although I'm not Emirati myself, I can still somewhat relate to this coming from a Muslim / traditional background.

I have mixed views about this. To an extent I can understand where the Men are coming from. When i've gotten proposals with the potential having a background of having studied or lived abroad for a while I'm automatically a little hesitant because I don't know what he could've done in those years. Don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming that anyone who goes abroad to the West to study becomes 'corrupted' and leaves his or her traditional values, but that there are chances of it happening more. One would argue, you can do all that and more in a place like Dubai too but the difference would be that finding out would be much easier.

On the other hand, completely shunning Women because they've studied abroad is I think a little too harsh. Not everyone who goes abroad loses their culture/religion. And therefore people should be given the benefit of the doubt and seen if they're compatible regardless of one spouse having studied abroad. There is nothing wrong with being exposed to different cultures as long as you are firm in your beliefs.

Some of my Emirati friends are Women who have studied abroad and they still hold fast to their culture and religion. In fact, I know girls who have lived here all their life and are more corrupt.

In conclusion, this stigma should not exist in any society. Yes, I could understand hesitancy but steps should be taken to understand each other better and base marriage on compatibility and understanding instead of a generalisation.