DUBAI: Dubai residents are becoming frustrated, even angry at the massage parlors springing up in the country that employ women wearing very little. Residents across the country are saying the businesses are “shady” and show women with little on their bodies offering “home services” and only a mobile phone number on cards dropped off around Dubai and Abu Dhabi. “Massage centers do not promote themselves by using pictures of barely-dressed women, because if a person wants to get a massage they look for a qualified masseuse, not an attractive one,” said Anne, a 34-year-old Greens resident, according to the Gulf News. Other residents told Bikyamasr.com that it is an advertising tactic, and that is all. “I think in this part of the world people have become really keen on attacking anything that is a little racy and certainly these images of women basically naked does that,” said Adam, a Canadian IT worker in Dubai. He argued that “the companies know exactly the clientele they are going for with those images and if that is who they want, then so be it. We see them and we don't have to call the numbers.” Officials warn such services may not be licensed centers. Instead, they could be run by unqualified providers carrying diseases or with criminal intent such as theft. In order to drop brochures or business cards anywhere in Dubai, the Dubai Economic Department (DED) must first issue approval of such a promotional effort. “No matter what the type of business is, DED has to approve any advertising,” said Mohammad Al Shael, CEO of Business Registration and Licensing Division at DED Such massage parlors are coming under increasing scrutiny in the Gulf country, where at least 6 such establishments were closed last year in Abu Dhabi. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/3tflR Tags: Criticism, Dubai, Massage, Women Section: Culture, Health, Latest News, United Arab Emirates
