Jubilee Post News & Views
Special Desk
A group of Australian women had to face gynaecological search by medical staff after a newborn was found abandoned at Hamad Airport.
Women who were strip-searched and examined at Doha airport are suing authorities in Qatar as they feel their matter has not been addressed correctly. The women were taken off a flight and checked for whether they had given birth after a baby was found in a bin at Hamad Airport in October 2020.
Women described their experience as state-sanctioned assault. Qatar later apologised and one airport official was handed a suspended jail sentence. But the women were not satisfied hence they took up the matter legally now.
Women said their cases have since been ignored. They were taken off the Qatar Airways plane by armed guards and taken into ambulances on the tarmac where they were inspected by nurses. The women alleged they were examined against their will as they did not gave consent for it and were not given explanations for what was being done with them.
The examinations lasted about five minutes before they were escorted back to their flight. Several women reported the incident to police after landing in Australia, sparking public attention and condemnation from several nations.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani had then tweeted an apology saying: “We regret the unacceptable treatment of the female passengers… What took place does not reflect Qatar’s laws or values.”
The Gulf state launched a criminal prosecution which led to a suspended jail term for an airport official. Damian Sturzaker, a lawyer for seven of the women, said they had been “met with a wall of silence” despite trying to engage with the Qatari authorities. And this has irked women who believe lack of action from the Qatari authorities and now have taken up legal suit.
Now they want a formal apology from Qatar and the airport to change its procedures to make sure the incident does not happen again, Sturzaker said. The women are seeking damages and allege assault, battery, trespass and false imprisonment by the Qatari government, Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority and Qatar Airways.
Qatar is set to receive thousands of foreign visitors when it hosts the 2022 football World Cup. Authorities in Qatar have not responded fresh on the development.
