Dubai resident sentenced to jail for filming woman in shower

Shocked and terrified by what she had just seen, the woman screamed for help, calling out to her flatmates.

An Indian man who secretly filmed a woman while she showered at a staff accommodation property in Dubai will be sent to jail, Khaleej Times reported

The 21-year-old defendant was handed down a three-month jail sentence by Dubai's Court of First Instance. He is set to be deported from the emirate after he serves his time in prison. 

During the court hearing, judges were told the man had "peeped through a small hole in the bathroom wall and filmed the woman with his mobile phone as she took a bath."

Though he initially admitted his crime to authorities, the man later denied the charges held against him in the case, which dates back to October 2017. Nevertheless, he was still found "guilty of breaching a woman's modesty and privacy."

Details of the chilling case

During interrogations, the woman at the center of the incident, a 28-year-old Filipino receptionist, shared chilling details of the case. 

"Around midnight, I was in the shower in my accommodation when I suddenly spotted the reflection of a man filming me using a mobile phone. I turned around and saw him standing at the small window of his room," she said

Shocked and terrified by what she had just seen, the woman screamed for help, calling out to her flatmates. An administrator at the defendant's workplace rushed to the scene on the night of the incident after he got a call from the victim.

In his witness statement, the man said when he arrived at the scene, the victim was distraught. 

"We seized the staff's mobile phones, including the defendant's. They all denied filming the woman. But when we told them we would report the incident to the police, the accused eventually admitted he filmed the complainant 'unintentionally' three times and then deleted all the clips without watching them," he explained

After the case was referred to authorities, the defendant admitted he had "climbed to the small window in his bathroom and used his mobile phone to secretly film the woman. He claimed he deleted the video clips shortly after she spotted him."

Hijabi rejects award because its brand ambassador is Gal Gadot

"We can't accept role models that support the oppression of women and girls in other parts of the world..."

Jordanian-Palestinian journalist, women's rights activist, and founder of MuslimGirl Amani Al-Khatahtbeh's advocacy for Muslim women has been acknowledged and praised over the years. But, it hasn't stopped there. 

Huge fashion brands have not only partnered with Khatahtbeh on projects but have also taken it a step further by honoring her work with numerous awards.

Revlon is the latest to do so by presenting the "Changemaker Award" to the 25-year-old media titan ... which she did not accept.

On Tuesday, Khatahtbeh took to social media to express the reasons for rejecting the award, explaining her decision came after the multinational cosmetics company announced Wonder Woman's Gal Gadot as brand ambassador for their newest "Live Boldly" campaign.

"I can't, in good conscience, accept this award..."

"This is why I couldn't accept Revlon Middle East's Changemaker Award celebrating their new #liveboldy campaign featuring Gal Gadot ... we can't accept role models that support the oppression of women and girls in other parts of the world," the 25-year-old wrote in a social media post.

"Her [Gal Gadot] vocal support of the Israeli Defense Forces' actions in Palestine goes against MuslimGirl.com's morals and values. I can't, in good conscience, accept this award from the brand and celebrate Gal's ambassadorship after the IDF imprisoned a 16-year-old girl named Ahed Tamimi last month, an activist who is currently still incarcerated," she added.

Gadot, a former Israeli soldier, publicly supported Israel's bombing of Gaza in 2014, which left more than 1,400 Palestinian civilians dead – including hundreds of women and children. 

During the conflict, the Zionist actress actually posted a photo of herself and her child praying in support of the Israeli troops.

"The personal is political — yes, even, and ESPECIALLY, when it comes to beauty — and I don't know about you, but my feminism is inclusive of ALL women and nothing less. That's what being a changemaker means to me," Khatahtbeh concluded. 

Wonder Woman was banned in several Arab countries due to Gadot's Israeli citizenship, her service in the Israeli military and her pro-Zionist views. 

Some in Lebanon, which was the first country to ban the film, criticized the decision. However, others were quick to point out that Gadot would have actually been serving in the military during the country's 2006 war with Israel, which left at least 900 Lebanese civilians dead.

People on social media hailed Khatahtbeh's decision

"Consistency and integrity is hard to find in people these days"

"Thank you for not being a sellout"