BBC World Service World of Secrets returns with a new six-part series, Death in Dubai, launching today.
The new BBC Eye documentary and World of Secrets podcast investigates the hidden world behind disturbing online rumours and exposes the exploitation of young Ugandan women in Dubai.
Available as a podcast, listeners in the UK will be able to hear all six episodes in full on BBC Sounds, while audiences outside the UK can either listen weekly on BBC.com or unlock all episodes immediately through BBC Podcasts Premium on Apple Podcasts. The series will also air weekly on BBC World Service radio starting 25 September.
Death in Dubai begins with the online phenomenon known as #DubaiPortaPotty, a term that went viral in 2022 and has been viewed over 450 million times on TikTok.
The rumour suggested women were subjecting themselves to degrading acts for wealthy men, but the BBC investigation uncovers a far darker reality.
Reporter and producer Runako Celina spent over two years tracing the stories of young women trafficked to Dubai and forced into prostitution.
Through survivor testimonies, undercover reporting and open-source investigations, the podcast hears how vulnerable women were recruited under false promises of regular jobs, only to arrive in Dubai and find themselves trapped in coercive sex work.
Some families are still seeking answers about the deaths of two Ugandan women, Monic Karungi and Kayla Birungi, who fell from buildings in Dubai’s Al Barsha neighbourhood.
Celina said: “Monic’s story was reduced to a meme online, but she was so much more than that. Behind the viral hashtag and the online abuse was a young woman with dreams for a better life, and a family who loved her.”
The series expands on the accompanying BBC Eye documentary by offering deeper interviews with survivors, witnesses and activists.
Listeners will also hear how unemployment and inequality in Uganda has driven many young people to seek work abroad, with remittances from the Gulf now contributing $1.2 billion annually to Uganda’s economy.
World of Secrets: Death in Dubai is a co-production between BBC Eye, BBC World of Secrets and British production company Thread Studios.
In addition to being available as a podcast, the documentary is also available to watch on BBC iPlayer in the UK, BBC Select in the US and English, Arabic, French, Swahili and Hausa versions on YouTube.
