For a city that is known to be home to more expats than nationals, the tension between Emiratis and locals has been heating up around wardrobe choices in the summer after a recent video went viral.

The video shows an Emirati woman throwing a fit at the Egyptian actress Abeer Sabry and Tunisian actress Feryal Youssef for wearing indecent clothes. Even though Farah Hamdy, an Egyptian expat who lives in Dubai, says that such commotion about inappropriate clothing is quite common and recurring in the expats-packed city, concerns about respecting the Emirati dress code bubbled up again after a video recently went viral.

Egyptian actress is heard commenting: "Who are you? And what do you want?"

While the woman answers: "I am an Emirati citizen. And when you're in my country, you don't get to dress like that."

With around 92 percent of Dubai's residents being expats, one may wonder what kind of identity is it that Dubai is trying to preserve.

“You won’t believe what kind of clothes some women wear when they visit us,” said one woman to the Khaleej Times. “We have got several complaints from both male and female customers about indecent dressing style of many women. Even European people (who have a liberal dressing style) have complained about certain women."

However, after rumors circulated that the Dubai municipality was handing out abayas to those who were not complying with the dress code in public places, Major-General Khalil Ibrahim Al-Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police for Criminal Investigation, went out of his way to let foreigners know that everyone was welcome in Dubai.

The municipality is handing out abayas to women who are not address appropriately, but only in municipality offices.

Maj-Gen Al Mansouri stated that action would be taken against the Emirati woman who posted the video and harassed the Egyptian expat, as video taping someone in public without their consent in illegal in the UAE.

Editor's note: an earlier version of this article stated that the Dubai municipality was encouraging foriengers to wear abayas in public places as a result of this video, which is not true, the move to hand out abayas is only inside government offices.

In a country where the legality of homosexuality is a gray zone  and police still raid gay-friendly establishments periodically, a number of Lebanese celebrities are speaking out against homophobia.

TV host Fouad Yammine  and director Zeina Dacche  joined several other prominent stars in a video condemning discrimination. The stars cite the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, calling on people to reject using the law to oppress any group.

The video, which also features Cythnia Karam, Bruno Tabbal  and Natasha Choufani, was released by Proud Lebanon  ahead of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia (IDAHOT) on May 17.

Full translation, from Global Voices :

Did you know that the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights? Did you know that in the 21st century, there are still people being beaten, stigmatized, arrested and in some cases even killed… just because they are LGBT? Being different isn't shameful… what's shameful is fighting diversity. He could be your brother, your neighbor or your co-worker. She could be your sister, your friend, or even your boss at school. If you don't recognize their existence, it doesn't mean that they don't exist. Protesting this injustice isn't enough. We should all work together to change these unjust laws and replace them with laws that protect all citizens. Because laws are for protection, not discrimination. We were all born free and equal. I know that it's hard to face society, but at least the laws need to be just. Democracy is not only majority and minority, it is to provide security to all citizens. You don't have to be poor to defend the rights of the poor. You don't have to be a woman, to defend the rights of women. You don't have to be a refugee, to defend the rights of refugees. And you don't have to be gay, to defend the rights of LGBT. Being human is enough. Even if we are different, we shouldn't disagree. Meet us on May 17 at Hotel Monroe to participate together at IDAHOT from 11am till 6pm.

In a region that has seen little progress on the rights of minorities – whether the queer community or religious and ethnic groups – in recent years, it is refreshing to see influential members of society putting themselves out in front on this issue. I hope this will encourage more celebrities, and not just from Lebanon, to speak out against hate.

Remember: “You don't have to be gay to defend the rights of LGBT ."