Qatar Gender Justice & The Law
1 Copyright © 2018. All rights reserved. United Nations Development Programme, One UN Plaza, New York, NY, 10017, USA This publication may be freely used for non-commercial, fair use purposes, with proper acknowledgment and attri- bution to UNDP. Any other use must be authorized in writing by UNDP.
This “Gender Justice & The Law” publication was developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA).
The views and analysis in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Development Programme, its Executive Board Members, the United Nations, any of its Member States or any of its affiliated or- ganizations.
Cover picture: © Ramzi Hachicho /123RF Design and layout: Prolance FZC ISBN:
The work on this publication was made possible with the support from Government of Japan, and donors contrib- uting to the UN Global Focal Point for Police, Justice and Corrections, among others.
2 3 Qatar Gender Justice Assessment of laws affecting gender equality and protection against gender-based violence
4 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 7
Overview 10
Protection from domestic violence and sexual violence 12
Honour crimes 12
Adultery and sex outside of marriage 13
Abortion for rape survivors 13
Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) 13
Family matters 13
Inheritance 14
Nationality 14
Labour laws 16
Sex work and anti-prostitution laws 17
Human trafficking 17
Sexual orientation, gender identity, and related issues 17
Qatar: Key resources 18
5 CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
CEDAW Committee UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
ESCWA Economic and Social Commission for West Asia
FGM/C emale genital mutilation / cutting
GBV Gender-based violence
ILO International Labour Organization
IOM International Organization for Migration
NGO Non-government organization ACRONYMS
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
SDGs Sustainable Development Goals
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNESCWA United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNFPA United Nations Population Fund
UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UN Refugee Agency)
UNICEF United Nations Children s Fund
UN Women United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
WHO World Health Organization
Arabic terms
fatwa Ruling or pronouncement on a point of Islamic law
‘idda The period a woman must observe after the death of her spouse or after a divorce during which she may not remarry
khalwa Social mingling of men and women who are unrelated
khul’a Divorce process initiated by the wife requiring return of her mahr
mahr Mandatory payment by the groom or his father to the bride which then becomes her property
talaq Repudiation divorce process whereby the husband repudiates his wife
‘urf Custom
wali Guardian
wilaya Guardianship
zina Unlawful sex, including adultery and sex between two persons neither of whom are married
6 6 CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
CEDAW Committee UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women INTRODUCTION
ESCWA Economic and Social Commission for West Asia
FGM/C emale genital mutilation / cutting
GBV Gender-based violence Scope
ILO International Labour Organization UNDP, in partnership with UN Women, UNFPA, and ESCWA, has conducted a study on Gender Justice and the Law to provide a comprehensive assessment of laws and policies affecting gender equality and protection against gender-based violence in the IOM International Organization for Migration Arab states region.
NGO Non-government organization The study is composed of an introductory piece that describes the background, rationale, analytical framework and methodology,
ACRONYMS and a total of 18 country profiles. Each country profile maps the country’s key legislative and policy developments regarding gender OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development justice.
SDGs Sustainable Development Goals This country profile presents the findings of the study relating to Qatar. It provides an analysis of whether the country’s laws and policies promote or impede equality between women and men before the law, and whether they provide protection against UNDP United Nations Development Programme gender-based violence.
UNESCWA United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia This country profile includes analysis of the following areas of the law: • Constitutional guarantees of gender equality and constitutional protections against gender-based violence • Status of penal codes and whether the country has domestic violence laws that address gender-based violence UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization • Status of personal status codes and how they impact gender equality • Status of nationality laws and whether they ensure that women and men enjoy equal rights in relation to citizenship UNFPA United Nations Population Fund • Status of labour laws and whether they provide protection from discrimination and gender-based violence in the workplace
UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UN Refugee Agency)
UNICEF United Nations Children s Fund Methodology and acknowledgements
UN Women United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women The study was conducted in two phases: 1. A literature review was conducted between January 2016 and June 2017 of the various laws, regulations, policies, and law WHO World Health Organization enforcement practices related to gender justice in each of the 18 countries, which then formed the basis of draft country profiles. 2. Realizing the limitations of desk-based literature reviews, country validation processes for each of the draft country profiles Arabic terms were led by UN Country Teams and national consultants. Country validation processes took place between September 2017 and August 2018 to ensure the accuracy of each country profile. These sought the views of government partners and other key national stakeholders. fatwa Ruling or pronouncement on a point of Islamic law Comments on drafts of this country profile were provided by the National Human Rights Committee of Qatar whose contribution are greatly acknowledged.
‘idda The period a woman must observe after the death of her spouse or after a divorce during which she may not remarry The literature reviews that formed the basis of the country assessment were authored by consultants John Godwin and Nadya Khalife. They also edited the final drafts for publication after feedback from national counterparts. Their insights and hard work are khalwa Social mingling of men and women who are unrelated recognized with gratitude. Nadya Khalife and Amr Khairy translated the outputs of the study into Arabic and English. Gratitude is also extended to John Tessitore for assistance with copyediting in English. khul’a Divorce process initiated by the wife requiring return of her mahr mahr Mandatory payment by the groom or his father to the bride which then becomes her property talaq Repudiation divorce process whereby the husband repudiates his wife
‘urf Custom wali Guardian wilaya Guardianship zina Unlawful sex, including adultery and sex between two persons neither of whom are married
7 R A T A Q
© FabioFormaggio/123RF
The colour-coded representation below provides a comparison of the laws identified in the country profile with international human rights standards, the recommendations of the UN Committee on Gender Justice the Elimination of Violence against Women and country recommendations under the country’s & The Law respective Universal Periodic Reviews. YES NO Partly The law provides for gender equality and/or The law does not Some gender justice DOES THE LAW ENSURE protection from gender-based violence and provide for gender aspects of the law GENDER EQUALITY AND is substantially compliant with international equality and/or there is have been PROTECTION FROM standards. A green category does not no or minimal protec- addressed, but VIOLENCE? indicate that the law is perfect or that tion from gender-based important gender gender justice in the relevant topic area has violence. inequalities remain. been fully achieved.
No available data or inadequate information.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Qatar ratified CEDAW in 2009. Reservations were made to Articles 2(a), 9(2), 15(1), 15(4), 16(1)(a), (c), and (f). Qatar also included several declarations, including that Article 5(a) must not be understood as encouraging women to abandon their role as mothers and their role in child-rearing.
Constitution
The 2004 Constitution states that all persons are equal before the law and there shall be no discrimination whatsoever on grounds of sex, race, language, or religion.
NATIONALITY LAW
NATIONALITY Women do not have the same rights as men to pass citizenship to their children or to a foreign spouse under the Nationality Law (Law No. 38 of 2005). 86 © UNDP QATAR R CRIMINAL LAWS
A Domestic violence Marital rape Rape Exoneration by There is no domestic violence legislation Marital rape is not criminalized. Due to (other than of a spouse) marriage in Qatar. the obedience requirement in the Family Rape is criminalized by Article 279 of There is no marry-your-rapist Law, cases of marital rape do not come the Penal Code. The death penalty law in Qatar. before the courts. applies in aggravated circumstanc- es, e.g., rape of a minor by a relative. Adultery Abortion for rape Sexual harassment Adultery is an offence under survivors Offensive remarks, sounds, or gestures Honour crimes: Articles 281, 282, and 285 of the Under the Penal Code, abortion is against women and girls are Mitigation of penalty Penal Code. generally illegal, except if necessary to criminalized by Article 291 of the Penal Article 47 of the Penal Code save the life of the woman. Code. allows for reduction in penalty Sexual orientation for perpetrators of ‘honour’ Sexual conduct between crimes. Human trafficking consenting adults outside of marriage is criminalized by Female Genital Mutilation / Qatar adopted a comprehensive law Articles 281, 282, 285, and 298 Cutting (FGM/C) against trafficking in 2011. The Law on QATAR QA T Sex work and of the Penal Code. Article 296 There are no laws prohibiting Combating Human Trafficking includes anti-prostitution laws criminalizes seducing for FGM/C. However, FGM/C is not penalties up to 15 years in prison and Prostitution is prohibited by Article sodomy or to commit immoral practiced in Qatar. protective services for victims of trafficking 298 of the Penal Code. acts.
© FabioFormaggio/123RF PERSONAL STATUS LAWS The colour-coded representation below provides a comparison of the laws identified in the country profile with international human rights standards, the recommendations of the UN Committee on Minimum age of Male guardianship over Marriage and divorce Polygamy Gender JusticeJustice the Elimination of Violence against Women and country recommendations under the country’scountry s women The Family Law requires the husband Polygamy is permitted by the respective Universal Periodic Reviews. marriage &