XPRESS, a weekly tabloid in the Emirates, reports: 

A shocking trend is sweeping across educational institutions in the UAE. It’s called same-sex relationships and it’s worrying officials and parents no end. 

A number of students, school employees and others confided in XPRESS that inappropriate intimacy among girls is on the rise on campuses.

“They sit intimately close and touch each other inappropriately,” said Umm Rawan, an employee at the Sharjah University for Women.

The paper quotes a police spokesperson as saying that "student delinquency" at schools in Ajman emirate is 70-80%, "with lesbianism accounting for 40% of this percentage". 

Meanwhile, the authorities are working to "curb deviant behaviour to better reflect the traditional conservative laws of the UAE". According to Dr Alia Ebrahim, "a family and educational issues consultant", the solution "includes gathering accurate statistics and assigning specialised committees to tackle the problem and setting in motion a mechanism to educate students and create awareness".

The paper also reports a few "case studies". One of the people concerned even "refused treatment".

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 15 February 2010.