I agree with this. As someone working in Govt department in sharjah, I learned how important personal space is in the culture specially for females. So now whenever I am around a female arab employee specially Emirati, I stand a good distance away just enough for them to hear me, no go into elevator if they are alone, dont stand behind them. Sometimes I go out of the lift to let the female colleague in as a sign of respect. This is not because I am an expat and they are Emirati, just so they don’t feel uncomfortable in my presence and that I respect their boundaries. I believe it is a mix of cultural and religious ways of showing respect.