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Qatar 'forcibly examined' women from aircraft, drawing angry diplomatic response

24 Comments
By PASCAL PAVANI

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24 Comments
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Disgusting!!

12 ( +13 / -1 )

So these women were detained and sexually assaulted by the Qatari authorities. This country is supposed to be holding the next World Cup. I won’t be using Qatar airlines now.

9 ( +13 / -4 )

Qatar practices a strict form of Islamic law, with stiff penalties applied to women who fall pregnant or bear children outside marriage.

Which is just one of the reasons why it needs to be boycotted.

But no... money will win the day.

8 ( +12 / -4 )

Horrible airline, horrible place, zero human rights for foreigners. Let this be another example of why this part of the world - places like Qatar, Dubai, Abu Dhabi - and their dodgy airlines must be avoided at all costs. Pay a bit more and avoid transiting through.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

after a premature baby was found abandoned in an airport bathroom

Seems like a very unusual and compelling circumstance.

”compelling"? Because they are women, the country has the right to rape* them?

You think that's acceptable?

*Yes, rape. The insertion of a foreign object into the vagina or anus without consent and using coercion.

10 ( +11 / -1 )

Kniknaknokkaer

Surely they could've reviewed CCTV to see who used the toilet after it was last cleaned/checked.

Dont you think they did? And dont you think the camera showed lots of people?

I

-12 ( +0 / -12 )

Rape. Which in middle east no one cares about.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Sick society.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

There are some parts of the world that are truly disgusting and should be avoided at all costs especially where women are treated like cattle, yuk what absolutely putrid way of dealing with a situation like that.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

If this happened in a less well off ME nation, there would be threats and sabre rattling at the very least, from the usual suspects.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Australian authorities are upset that women were checked to see if they had abandoned a newborn baby. Meanwhile, thousands of potential immigrants to Australia are kept secluded on an island, without legal representation, and without a reasonable chance at immigration, based on the color of their skin.

People who live in glass houses, and all of that. Compared to what Australian authorities are doing, the Qatari authorities' actions seem tame.

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

A detailed report from one of the women. Even though she was in her sixties, she was told to leave the plane. It wasn’t until the last moment a guard decided she didn’t need to be examined. This is sexual assault, the apologists are condoning rape.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

It seems like we don't have all the facts. Were the women forcibly held down by the ambulance crews while the procedure was performed on them against their will? Or were they offered the procedure as an ad hoc alternative to being held by police as suspects in a criminal investigation, and thereby missing their flight home?

0 ( +4 / -4 )

It seems like we don't have all the facts. Were the women forcibly held down by the ambulance crews while the procedure was performed on them against their will? Or were they offered the procedure as an ad hoc alternative to being held by police as suspects in a criminal investigation, and thereby missing their flight home?

Coercion is a form of force. Just because they didn’t hold a gun to these women’s heads or physically strap them down to a gurney doesn’t mean they weren’t forced to undergo these ‘examinations’. Whether the force was explicit or implied is irrelevant. What happened was a gross violation of these women’s human rights.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

No woman should have agreed to the exam in this story, but after a 10 hour flight, we are all a little drained and just want to get a shower and some sleep.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

This is absolutely disgusting. Australia should sanction them or something. This is not appropriate.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

This is a horrifying situation all the way around. It’s a tragedy for a child to be abandoned like that. It is incredibly inhumane. The determination to identify the person who would do such a thing is commendable. The means to this end is the problem. Does not seem at all reasonable to search a person in such a personal manner without a justified reason to suspect someone other than the fact they fit a certain demographic. But these are the risks we all take when traveling to or through countries that have different standards than where we are from. Too many in the West expect others to live by our standards. It can be a rude awakening to find out that isn’t the way the world works.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

What happened to taking a DNA sample from the deceased and going from there? A DNA sample could narrow the range of suspects greatly. It is also far easier to take a DNA sample that to conduct a forced physical examination of women on an airplane. I also have to challenge the infallibility of a physical examination absent a DNA match.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

This is absolutely disgusting. Australia should sanction them or something. This is not appropriate.

What can Australia do? Refuse to sell them sheep? Send the Canberra up into the Persian Gulf and launch air strikes?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

What happened to taking a DNA sample from the deceased and going from there? A DNA sample could narrow the range of suspects greatly. It is also far easier to take a DNA sample that to conduct a forced physical examination of women on an airplane. I also have to challenge the infallibility of a physical examination absent a DNA match.

They were trying to find a woman who had freshly given birth, and before she potentially left the airport never to return.

I think their methodology is disgusting, but DNA testing isn't going to work - it takes hours to months to get back a result.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

What can Australia do?

Exactly what I said - you even quoted it:

Australia should sanction them

2 ( +2 / -0 )

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