US embassy cable - 05DOHA1240

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DOHA 001240 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/RA, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PINS, PREL, SOCI, QA 
SUBJECT: HOW ELITE QATARI WOMEN VIEW THEMSELVES 
 
1. (U) Summary. The Political Section has been following up 
with Qatari women throughout the last few months to gain 
their perspective on various facets of Qatari society and the 
changing role of women. At a recent gathering of elite Qatari 
women, Poloff asked the women to express their views on a 
range of issues in Qatari society and how it affected their 
role and status as women. Guests included: Fareeda 
Al-Obaidli, director of Qatar Foundation for the Protection 
of Women & Children; Sheikha Al-Jufairi, member of Central 
Municipal Council; Maryam Arab, legal expert at the Ministry 
of Justice, Noor Al-Malki, acting director of the Women's 
Department at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs; Nahid 
Al-Emadi, head of international contracts at the Ministry of 
Justice; Najat Khalaf, legal expert at Ministry of Justice; 
Abeer Rashid Al-Kawari, human resources supervisor at Qatar 
Petroleum; and Tarfa Al-Sada, vice president of the Committee 
on the Elderly at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs. The 
discussion covered such issues as work and equal opportunity, 
education, democracy and elections, children, and legal 
rights. While they highlight areas of discrimination and 
inequality, Qatari women firmly believe their situation has 
improved and expect further progress for the next generation 
of Qatari women. The women attributed these positive 
developments to the Amir and Sheikha Mozah, asserting that 
since the present Amir came to power, Qatari women have 
gained and continue to gain more rights than ever before. End 
Summary. 
 
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Women, the Workplace and Equal Opportunity 
------------------------------------------ 
 
2. (U) Prior to 1996, Qatari women were limited to working in 
more traditional fields like health and education. However, 
since the current Amir assumed power in 1995, women have 
advanced professionally and are represented now in diverse 
fields. Qatari women hold positions in the Ministries of 
Justice, Interior, and Civil Service Affairs and Housing, and 
in law enforcement, the oil and gas sector, private business 
and banking. The president of Qatar University, the minister 
of education, and the chairpersons of the National Human 
Rights Committee and Supreme Council for Health Affairs are 
all women. Women also hold prominent positions in the Supreme 
Council for Family Affairs, the Election Committee, and the 
Supreme Council for Communication and Information Technology. 
While the women hailed the professional advancement of women, 
they acknowledged however, that the majority of Qatari women 
continue to occupy lower posts, typically administrative and 
clerical positions. 
 
3. (U) Some of the women noted that while Qatari men respect 
the right of women to work and do not oppose women at the 
workplace, men still tend to be wary of women in high 
positions and are not always supportive of them. Men also are 
reluctant to be supervised by women. The women also admitted 
that they are not treated fairly in aspects of salary and 
employee benefits. Our contacts stated that men earn more 
than women even if they perform the same work. They observed 
that although the new labor law provides for equal pay for 
equal work, the reality is different; there is a lack of 
enforcement of this provision. Men also receive higher 
housing and social (i.e., marital status) allowances as part 
of their work benefits than women. According to the women we 
spoke to, the lack of equity in pay and allowances reinforces 
women's dependency on men. This deficiency tends to limit, 
and in some cases prevent, women from taking certain 
decisions in their personal lives because of their financial 
dependence on men. 
 
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Women   Education = Opportunity 
------------------------------- 
 
4. (U) When the topic turned to education, the women became 
more animated. They were effusive in their praise of Sheikha 
Mozah, the consort of the Amir, for undertaking progressive 
reforms in the area of education. According to the women, 
improvements in this area are directly attributable to 
Sheikha Mozah, whom they see as a visionary and a great role 
model for Qatari women. They noted that Sheikha Mozah has 
encouraged women to get the education and training needed to 
qualify them for high-ranking positions. When asked if 
educational reforms are being undertaken too quickly, the 
women responded with an emphatic "no," adding that the 
reforms taken thus far provide Qatari women access to quality 
education. Education in turn affords women greater choices 
and opportunities for their professional development. Our 
contacts also predicted that the current educational reforms 
would have particular impact on the next generation of young 
women, stating that their daughters would benefit greatly 
from these changes. 
 
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The Role of Women in Democracy and Elections 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
5. (U) Discussion of democracy and elections highlighted a 
clear division within the group. One faction acknowledged 
that women have an integral role to play in democracy and 
elections but cautioned against moving too quickly. They 
asserted that democratic reform should not be imposed by 
external forces, nor should its form be dictated by 
outsiders. These women stressed the need for pragmatism, 
warning that women should not be pushed into the political 
arena before they and society are ready. This group also 
argued against having a quota for women in the upcoming 
parliamentary elections. In their view, quotas are not only a 
bad idea but also unconstitutional. According to them, the 
constitution legitimates the equality between the sexes. 
Establishing quotas would favor women over men, thus 
undermining their credibility in front of men. 
 
6. (U) The other group, however, favored a more politically 
active role for women and expressed the belief that until 
society is "trained" to accept women in the political arena, 
at least one woman should be appointed to parliament. Only 
through their actual presence and participation in these 
posts, will society become "trained" and sensitized to women 
in political positions. These women reasoned that women could 
not afford to wait for Qatari society to get used to women 
holding political office. They believed that as it stood now, 
women would not be represented in the new parliament unless 
one is appointed. Women should seize the opportunity now, 
they argued, to hold political office and should not worry 
whether it is by means of election or appointment. They said 
social and cultural systems in Qatari society create barriers 
for women. The women pointed to the act of voting as an 
example, noting that under Qatar,s prevailing tribal system, 
men still dictate how women should vote. As long as the 
tribal system dominates Qatari society and politics, observed 
this group, a woman has little chance of being elected to 
parliament. The tribal system proves the need for a formal or 
informal minimum quota for women in high office. 
 
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The Legal Limits of Motherhood 
------------------------------ 
 
7. (U) The legal rights of women as mothers are governed 
under the Family Status Law. A new Family Status Law is 
pending; it is said to be delayed because of disagreements 
over some of the new provisions. According to one source, the 
dispute centers on whether or not some of the provisions of 
the draft law are too "progressive" on certain women's issues 
and thus possibly contradicts Islam. The Family Status Law 
elucidates, among others, the issue of guardianship. 
According to the law, girls thirteen years old and younger 
and boys eleven years old and younger are under their 
mother's guardianship. Once they exceed those ages, 
guardianship changes to the father. When asked about this 
provision and their relationship in general with their 
children, the women admitted that while they have some say in 
their children's lives, they are not the decision-makers and 
do not have final say on matters. The women did express that 
they expected better for their daughters. They looked to 
educational reforms currently being undertaken to be the 
catalyst in their daughters' having control over their lives 
when they grow older. 
 
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Legal Discrimination 
-------------------- 
 
8. (U) Our contacts said that existing laws do not fully 
protect women and their children against abuse and 
discrimination. They complained that women and children had 
no legal recourse in cases of abuse by a spouse, parent or 
other family member. They noted that the courts also do not 
provide protection for women and tend to rule in favor of men 
on this issue. Cultural beliefs and norms make it difficult 
for women to talk openly about abuse and tend to contribute 
to the overall problem. 
 
9. (U) The women also admitted that they do not have equal 
rights with men when it comes to marriage and to the issue of 
conferring nationality. Some women complained of the double 
standard in laws which allow Qatari men to marry foreign 
women and confer Qatari nationality on them and to their 
children. The same laws, however, require Qatari women to get 
prior approval from the Ministry of Interior in order to 
marry foreigners, and prevent them from conferring 
nationality to their spouse and children. The result is that 
Qatari women tend to avoid marriages with foreigners because 
their children will be denied Qatari nationality. A few women 
did not agree that women should have the right to confer 
Qatari nationality on foreign spouses, stating that if the 
laws were changed, foreign men would marry Qatari women as a 
means to gain the rights of citizenship. 
 
10. (U) Our contacts also acknowledged discrimination in 
access to perquisites of free land and interest-free loan. 
Qatari men are entitled to a plot of land from the government 
as well as a 20-year interest free loan, if they are in a 
senior government position, to build and furnish a house. 
Qatari women are not entitled to this benefit. The women view 
this as another factor re-enforcing the insecurity felt by 
many Qatari women and their inability to take important 
decisions in their lives. 
 
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The Future is our Daughters 
--------------------------- 
 
11. (U) In closing the luncheon meeting, Poloff asked the 
women where they saw themselves in the next ten to fifteen 
years. They responded not about themselves but about their 
daughters, commenting that their daughters would enjoy 
greater rights and opportunities than they have had. They 
believed that their daughters would have better futures and 
more control over their lives. That the women did not 
necessarily see a role for themselves in only a decade was 
illustrative of how the view the limits of their role in 
society. 
PYOTT