Several human rights organizations are slamming Andy Cohen and Bravo over their new show The Real Housewives of Dubai, demanding that the network publicly announce its opposition to violence against women and anti-gay laws enacted in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates.
A group of 12 separate organizations sent a letter to Bravo, its parent company NBCUniversal, and the production company Truly Original, expressing concern with the series, according to a report by Yahoo! Entertainment.
“We are deeply concerned by your decision to produce and launch the latest edition of the Real Housewives series in Dubai,” the letter read.
“Dubai is an absolute monarchy that is part of the dictatorship of the United Arab Emirates,” the letter added. “By setting the Real Housewives franchise inside Dubai, you are helping the UAE dictatorship hide its male rulers’ misogyny, legalized homophobia and mass violence against women.”
First, the organizations called on the executives to “reveal whether the rulers of Dubai and the UAE funded or financed the Real Housewives of Dubai in any way.”
The organizations went on to request that Bravo “run a disclaimer” at the beginning of every episode stating that the network opposes “the UAE and Dubai dictatorship’s misogyny, homophobia, women’s rights violations, and war in Yemen.”
They also requested that money be donated to human rights organizations that are addressing such violations in the UAE and Dubai and asked that fans of the Real Housewives franchise be educated on the human rights violations in the region and how they can “stand up for women’s rights and LGBTQ equality.”
The letter also detailed some of the human rights violations, which included Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum kidnapping his own adult daughters — one of whom has been held captive for over 20 years — after they tried to escape the UAE, and intimidating and harassing his ex-wife.
The UAE’s anti-LGBTQ laws were also on the list of objections to Real Housewives of Dubai. Homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death in the United Arab Emirates.
“As these examples reveal, the dictatorship of the United Arab Emirates and Dubai is a deeply flawed choice for the Real Housewives series,” the letter read. “By producing and launching the Real Housewives of Dubai, you risk providing the rulers of the UAE and Dubai with the soft propaganda they need to hide their human rights crimes from the world.”
“We urge you to immediately take the above steps to demonstrate your rejection of the human rights violations, homophobia and predatory male behavior of the rulers of the United Arab Emirates and Dubai,” the letter added.
The groups that signed the letter were Freedom Forward, Action Corps, Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues, CODEPINK, European Centre For Democracy and Human Rights, FairSquare, Health Advocacy International, Human Rights Sentinel, Just Foreign Policy, Last Mile4D, Peace Action, and ReThinking Foreign Policy.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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