Ruby Mellen August 1, 2019, The Washington Post An ongoing international custody battle between Dubai’s ruler and one of his wives has undermined the deliberately cultivated image of the city as a playground for Western tourists that embraces modern sensibilities in an overwhelmingly conservative part of the world. For many outside the Middle East, Dubai has developed a reputation as a glitzy, cosmopolitan hub — a view that has been molded and propagated by its ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Maktoum, who is also the vice president of the United Arab Emirates. But Maktoum, a 70-year-old billionaire racehorse owner, has faced successive claims of mistreatment by women in his family. The cases have highlighted what activists have said are the emirate’s regressive attitudes toward women’s rights and free speech that are too often masked by the perception of Dubai as the Las Vegas of the Middle East. This week, one of Maktoum’s six wives, Princess Haya Bint Hussein, 45, appealed to Britain’s High Court for a forced marriage protection order for one of their children, which can protect someone who has been or is being forced into marriage. Haya has been staying in London with her and the sheikh’s two children and has indicated she does not intend to return to Dubai. Helen Ward, a lawyer representing Maktoum in the custody case, did not return an email seeking comment. Haya’s case has fixed a fresh spotlight on previous allegations of cruelty against Maktoum from female members of his family. Two of his daughters from another wife have attempted to flee the kingdom, saying they sought freedom from the family’s repressive rule. They were both captured and brought back to Dubai. But their cases have sparked international concern. "When you see female members of the royal family literally fleeing the country and seeking asylum, it should indicate the even greater extent to which average women in the UAE are denied basic rights,” said Radha Stirling, the chief executive of British-based advocacy group Detained in Dubai. Here’s what we know about the royal women’s cases. Princess Shamsa Maktoum — 2000 One of Maktoum’s daughters, Princess Shamsa Maktoum, was the first to run away from her family in July 2000. According to a Guardian investigation, the headstrong 19-year-old princess, who was staying at her family’s estate in Surrey for the summer, vanished one day. When her father discovered her disappearance, a frantic search was launched, a former employee who worked on the estate told the paper. Horses, helicopters and cars were sent in pursuit of Shamsa. One year later, the Guardian received word that a woman claiming to be Shamsa had contacted British authorities, saying she was kidnapped from England and brought back to Dubai. She had been at a bar with friends in Cambridge, the woman said, when a car pulled up alongside her. Four men forced her into the car, where she was taken to her family’s property in Newmarket, and flown on private jet back to Dubai the next day. The UAE government remains tight-lipped about what happened to Shamsa, and the princess has not made a public appearance since her attempted escape. But almost 20 years later, disturbing details emerged about what may have happened to her when her younger sister ran away and broadcast her unhappiness on the Internet. Princess Latifa Maktoum — 2018 In 2018, Princess Latifa Maktoum got on an American yacht and hoped to sail to freedom, in an escape she said she had planned for seven years. A recorded video that has nearly 4 million views showed the princess detailing the oppressive life she said she was made to live under palace rule. She added that the treatment of her sister upon her return to Dubai had made her want to seek refuge. She was making the video, she said, in case her attempt failed. “They’re not going to take me back alive,” she said. “That’s not go