HOW ELITE QATARI WOMEN VIEW THEMSELVES

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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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