United Arab Emirates scores own goal with 'gender balance' awards
The Gulf state was ridiculed online, with one user asking: "Sorry which genders are they balancing? We see only one."
Monday 28 January 2019 21:00, UK
It was meant to be an awards ceremony celebrating "significant progress" in gender equality.
But in scenes straight out of a satirical TV show, the United Arab Emirates has attracted ridicule after every single prize in its "gender balance" awards was given to a man.
Twitter users were quick to mock the absence of women among the recipients - and some questioned whether the Gulf state's official account had been hacked by satirical website The Onion.
One sarcastic user tweeted: "Great to see Dubai promoting and rewarding the promotion of gender balance, but there is something missing in these photos... cannot put my finger on it..."
Someone else asked: "Sorry which genders are they balancing? We see only one."
While another wrote: "I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you, but you forgot to invite WOMEN."
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and vice president and prime minister of the UAE, had tweeted pictures of the award winners late on Sunday night.
The medals and certificates went to the finance ministry, the federal competitiveness and statistics authority and ministry of human resources - all of which were represented by men.
In an apparent bid to make amends, the Dubai government's media office later tweeted a photograph showing five women standing beside Sheikh Mohammed and the male recipients, but they were not identified.
The UAE Gender Council says it has achieved its goals of reducing the gender gap across all sectors of government.
Although the state's cabinet has approved legislation designed to ensure all women are equally paid, critics say real change is still a long way off.
In December, the World Economic Forum ranked the UAE 121st out of 149 countries overall in terms of gender equality in education, health and participation in politics and the economy.
Critics say the UAE's laws are still highly discriminatory.
Marital rape is not a crime while domestic violence is permitted as long as "assault does not exceed the limits of Islamic law", according to Human Rights Watch.