Lucy Carne: Sanction Qatar for its abuse of our women
The horrific treatment that women endured at Doha airport last month can only be described as state sanctioned mass rape. Australia cannot brush away this outrage with empty words, writes Lucy Carne.
Opinion
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It’s been described as an “invasive medical check”, “vaginal examination” or simply a “strip search”.
But why not call what happened to at least 18 women – including 13 Australians – on the tarmac of Doha’s international airport on October 2 what it really was: state sanctioned mass rape.
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For that is the only way to describe Qatari doctors penetrating women without their consent.
It’s impossible to conceive the fear as these women – including two British citizens and a New Zealander – were dragged off the Sydney-bound flight.
Forced into ambulances and made to lie naked on a bench, male police watched through the windows as they were checked if they had given birth recently.
A new born girl had been found alive wrapped in a plastic bag and buried under rubbish in a bin inside the Hamad International Airport in Doha.
“This egregious and life-threatening violation of the law triggered an immediate search for the parents, including on flights in the vicinity of where the newborn was found,” Qatar authorities said.
In response to the abandoned baby, which is now in state care, at least 10 flights were prevented from departing and females were told to disembark, including a mother who was made to leave her sleeping children on the plane.
The women were surrounded by police on the tarmac and forced one by one into ambulances.
Ffranses Ingram, of Sydney, who is visually impaired, initially thought the plane had been hijacked in a terrorist attack and that the Qatari government had persuaded women to be allowed to leave. No one would speak English or tell them what was happening, she said.
It wasn’t until a female passenger emerged hysterical from the ambulance that the terrifying reality became clear.
While Ms Ingram escaped a ‘check’ due to her older age, one woman who tried to refuse was told she would not be allowed back on the plane.
“They kept us all separate so we couldn’t really have any strength in numbers or liaise with each other or protest,” Ms Ingram told the BBC. “It was a hostage situation, but not the one I thought it was. There was no opportunity for consent.”
One teenage girl was reportedly in tears when she returned to the plane.
“It really was outrageous what they did to these young women,” Ms Ingram said. “How do you get over, emotionally, an ordeal like that?”
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Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said it was a “grossly disturbing, offensive, concerning set of events” and that she “made our views very clear to the Qatari authorities on this matter”.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was “unacceptable” and that the Australian government would await a report from Qatar.
“As a father of daughters, I could only shudder at the thought that anyone would, Australian or otherwise, be subjected to that,” he said.
After growing support on social media to boycott the airline, Qatar said on Friday it may prosecute individuals involved.
But are empty words really enough when the human rights of our citizens have been abused?
Where is the diplomatic outrage and condemnation?
Where is the fight for compensation for these victims?
The Transport Workers’ Union of New South Wales have shown the only valid reaction. Its members, who work on Qatar Airways planes at Sydney Airport, have planned industrial action against the carrier, including refusal to refuel and clean planes.
Yes, the government needs Qatar Airlines to bring home citizens trapped overseas.
But surely they could charter Qantas planes to return stranded Aussies rather than be indebted to an airline owned by a state that treats women as worthless.
Our relationship with Qatar has been stretched since Australia lost the bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
The decision was clouded by allegations of corruption, that were denied by Qatar, but included that the Gulf State allegedly paid off FIFA officials and organised a smear campaign to discredit Australia and the USA.
There are now, rightly, growing calls for Australians to boycott the World Cup and the government to block Qatar Airlines from landing in Australia until compensation is paid.
Australia may be a minor player on the global stage, but that does not mean we should cave in and accommodate Qatar’s continued appalling abuse of human rights.
This is an chance to show the world that Australia will not brush aside mass rape of our citizens.
This is not Gilead. Women’s rights are human rights, wherever you are in the world.
Every Australian should be disgusted at what happened to those women. And these women should know that all of Australia stands besides them in outrage.