We wrote earlier of the 73rd Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and its assessment of Qatar’s compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This submission addresses articles 1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 12, 14, 15, and 16 of the Convention.
This submission is based on data contained in Human Rights Watch guides and media reviews. Qatar’s Family Law No. 22 of 2006 codified matters of personal repute for the first time in Qatar; some of its provisions, specifically the ones relating to marriage and divorce, discriminate against girls.
The concept of male guardianship included in Qatari law undermines women’s right to make self-reliant choices approximately marriage. The regulation provides that women can simplest marry if a male parent approves of the marriage, while allowing men to have 4 other wives at the same time.[1] The regulation calls for a husband to offer “upkeep” for his wife throughout the marriage.[2] The regulation also calls for a wife to be obedient to her husband, maintain the house and its belongings, and breastfeed infant kids until there is an obstacle. Under the regulation, a spouse can lose her right to upkeep if, for example, she refuses to have sexual family members “without a valid cause” or works outdoor in the home without her husband’s permission.[3]
Men even have a unilateral right to divorce at the same time as requiring girls to go to the courts for divorce on restrained grounds, such as if she has been abandoned or abused, or if her husband has not provided for her financially.[4]
The minimum age for registering a marriage is 16 for girls, in contravention of international requirements that advise a minimum age of marriage of 18.[5]
Women additionally face discrimination regarding the reputation of their children after divorce. The regulation offers a father legal guardianship of the children regardless of whether or not a court has ordered that the children have to live with the mother. The law expressly states that the Muslim mom shall have physical custody of kids up to age thirteen for boys and age 15 for ladies unless the court rules in any other case; however, the law offers all decision-making authority to fathers.[6] A non-Muslim mom may additionally most effectively keep custody of the child till the age of seven.[7] Children can also be removed from living with their mothers if their mothers remarry.[8]
Under inheritance provisions, women siblings acquire half of the amount their brothers get.[9]
Single women below 25 years of age should gain their mum or dad’s permission to travel out of Qatar. Married ladies are entitled to travel without permission, irrespective of their age. However, if a person does not need his spouse to travel, he can method the court to limit her travel.[10] A spouse can be deemed disobedient and hence lose her husband’s financial support if she travels no matter his objection. Zina offenses (intercourse outdoor of marriage) that criminalize consensual sexual family members out of doors marriage and other “ethical” offenses under Qatari law violate international human rights law, as do the punishments associated with them. Muslims convicted of zina can also be sentenced to flogging (if single) or the loss of life penalty (if married). Non-Muslims may be sentenced to imprisonment. As an example, article 281 of the Penal Code stipulates that “whoever copulates with a lady over sixteen without compulsion, duress or ruse shall be punished with imprisonment for as much as up to seven years. The identical penalty shall additionally be imposed on the female for her consent.” Article 282 increases the penalty to up to 15 years if both or both events knew that he was prohibited from marrying her for everlasting or temporary reasons.”
According to 1 media report in 2017, an attorney in Qatar predicted that he sees about three Zina cases attempted in court each day, but hardly ever sees sentences being handed down. The lower courts typically difficulty excessive punishments, together as flogging and stoning. However, maximum emerges as inside the Court of Appeals, which “nearly always” lowers the sentence. In the case of flogging, a loophole, approximately “no longer being medically suited to withstand” the lashes, is used to exempt prisoners from the punishment, in line with the attorney. He did not understand any stoning sentence that has been carried out in recent years.[11]
Zina offenses are regularly carried out in a way that discriminates based on sex: women are disproportionately impacted because of prevailing social attitudes and because being pregnant serves as “proof” of the offense. Women who have suffered rape or sexual attack face a hazard that they may face zina expenses if they document the crimes devoted in opposition to them. Men can deny the act of Zina, whereas women are less capable of accomplishing that if they may be observed to have miscarried or are pregnant. Moreover, a hospital group of workers members reports women who have miscarried or are pregnant outdoor of marriage to the police. According to 1 media document from 2017, a Filipino home worker stated she had been reported to the police using the sanatorium after she sought remedy for heavy bleeding. The medical institution staff believed she had miscarried. She had spent a year in jail but had not yet been sentenced at the time of the report.[12]
Zina offenses can also disproportionately affect vulnerable women, together with migrant home employees. Some employers accuse home workers of Zina to counter rape or sexual attack allegations that the employee has made in opposition to the business enterprise. In addition, as home migrant workers live in their organisation’s houses, they face the hazard that employers will report them to the police if they suspect them of having sex dating.
Article 316 makes abortion illegal in Qatar except there’s of “medical necessity.” A girl who has an abortion faces a penalty of up to a few years in prison.