Human rights groups call on Qatar to stop criminalising sex outside marriage


Human rights groups are calling for Qatar to stop criminalising sex outside marriage and end its aggressive enforcement of so called "love crimes", after it forced women on a Sydney-bound flight to undergo invasive medical examinations.

Half of Qatar's imprisoned women jailed for sex outside marriage
Mr Lynch previously investigated conditions for women in Qatar for Amnesty International, finding the majority of women in prison in the small Gulf state were foreign workers, with half jailed for so-called "love crimes".
In Qatar, a conviction for "illicit relations" — meaning sex outside marriage — can lead to a prison sentence of up to seven years, although normally courts sentence women to one year in jail.

"These are foreign women who were there, some of whom report being raped and who were put in prison because they were not believed," Mr Lynch said.
"So it is not uncommon, particularly for women who work in houses as domestic workers, mostly from South-East Asia, south Asia, to get pregnant outside marriage and then try to hide that fact."

After extensive international criticism of its treatment of migrant workers, Qatar introduced legal protections, such as a maximum working hours and the right to change employer, but an Amnesty International investigation found the rules were poorly implemented and rarely enforced.
The Government of Qatar has not said whether the mother of the baby has been found and if she has been charged, although it has promised a report into the response of airport authorities.
Its statement said Prime Minister Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, who is also Minister of the Interior, directed that "a comprehensive, transparent investigation into the incident be conducted".
"The results of the investigation will be shared with our international partners," the statement said.
But Rothna Begum, a senior women's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, said Qatar needed to be more open about its response.
"Will they reveal how many women were subject to investigation including the invasive exams?" she said.
"What measures will they take to provide redress to women subject to such forced exams?"

Ms Begum said the Gulf state needed to change its whole approach to women's rights to prevent incidents like the one at Doha Airport.

"The alleged actions of the Qatari authorities on October 2 would have failed many women — the unknown woman apparently forced to give birth in an airport toilet, unable to ask for assistance with her labour or on what to do with the baby, and the multiple women reportedly pulled off the plane for examinations," she said.

"Qatar should prohibit forced gynaecological exams and investigate and bring to account any individuals who authorised any demeaning treatment.
"It should also decriminalise sex outside of wedlock."

(AMP)

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