*Names have been changed at the request of the women to protect their identity.

On October 2 last year, women on ten Qatar Airways flights, including thirteen innocent Australians, were subjected to invasive gynaecological searches at Doha airport as authorities attempted to look for the mother of a newborn found abandoned in an airport bathroom.

The international incident caused outrage online and sparked concerns about Qatar’s treatment of women.

Photo by Karim Jaafar / AFP.​

Authorities in Qatar airport found a newly-born baby alive in a bin at the Hamad International Airport, which resulted in the use of extreme measures to find the mother of the abandoned child.

The local police and security personnel gathered all women of childbearing age who were in the vicinity and subjected them to 'humiliating' and 'traumatising' medical examinations.

The disturbance began when a message from the flight intercom demanded that all women onboard disembark the plane with their passports.

Some confused passengers feared that there was a terrorist attack, and they were being taken as hostages.

“I thought we were going to be kidnapped or held as legal pawns. I feared we were going to be raped and that my child is going to be taken and that we will never see family again,” one woman named Anna* on Flight 908 recalled.

“It was the scariest moment of my life.”

“I was crying and shaking and squeezing my baby. I didn't want to get on an elevator with armed guards not knowing where we were going and where we were being taken.”

The women were directed inside an ambulance, where a nurse briefly explained what was happening and told them to lay down on the bed.

“She grabbed under my pants and my underwear, and she stripped them,” said Anna.

“It was a humiliation, an abuse of power, and a breach of my human rights.”

“No one is allowed to touch me, no one is allowed to strip me naked without my consent, and that is what happened to me in a major airport, one of the biggest airports in the world with a major airline.”

Anna* was one of the Australian women who were harassed and violated on the Qatar flight. Photo from 60 Minutes.
​

Fellow passenger Sophie* said the experience has left her traumatised.

“I felt very angry and full of rage leaving the ambulance that I didn't have a stronger voice that I allowed that to take place, that I didn't protest enough. I felt powerless.”

Aussie grandmum Kim Mills also reported what happened while they were inside the ambulance.

“She told me to pull my pants down and that they needed to examine my vagina,” said Ms Mills.

“I said, "I'm not doing that," and she did not explain anything to me. She just kept saying, "we need to see it, we need to see it".”

The grandmother attempted to escape, but there was nowhere to run, and she eventually yielded.

“I was panicking. Everyone had gone white and was shaking,” she said.

According to her, the women were then taken to an interview room and instructed to provide their flight information.

By the time she was back on the plane, her legs were 'just wobbling'. She asked why they weren't told what was going on.

“I can't imagine what it was like for those poor young girls; it must have been horrendous,” Ms Mills recalled.

“I'm a mother of three daughters, and when I got back on the plane and reflected on it and thought, ‘I am so glad it wasn't any of my girls.’”

Sophie* is among the victims who are speaking out over the incident. Photo from 60 Minutes.
​

Sydney-based lawyer Damian Sturzaker said seven passengers from the incident are now planning legal action to “send a message to Qatari authorities that you can’t treat women in this manner”.

“The group of women have suffered enormous distress on the evening concerned, now just over a year ago, and they continue to suffer distress and ill effects and trauma as a result of what occurred,” he said.

The victims were seeking a formal apology, compensation for damages and trauma, and protection for future passengers of the airport.

But so far, no meaningful action has been taken, and no apologies have been received from Qatar Airways. However, they did vow to guarantee the future “safety and security” of passengers.

The country’s prime minister also issued an apology, while the airport police officer who oversaw the searches was blamed and reportedly suspended.

Sturzaker said the women had not been made aware of any improvements to airport procedures, and their attempts to seek mediation had been unsuccessful.

“We were led into these ambulances with no choice, but we have a choice now, and we are going to take action,” said Sophie.

The victims are now suing state-owned Qatar Airways and the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, accusing them of assault, battery and deprivation of liberty.

“The incident was in breach of many international covenants and obviously in breach of human rights,” said Sturzaker.

“We want a reasonable outcome and for positive steps to be taken guarantee the safety of women and more generally people in general travelling through Doha.”

“These women have taken the brave decision to say, ‘we’re not going to stand by and allow this to have happened and let you get away with it. We want to see this end’.”


A GoFundMe fundraiser has been created for the affected passengers on Qatar Airways flight QR908 with their full consent. The purpose is to raise money to cover legal expenses for the group of women.

 

[Vinylted]

Good luck with getting justice for women in an Islamic country.

 

[Jonathan Leane]

Not politically correct, but I'm inclined to agree with @Vinylted

 

[Topher]

Does this law apply ONLY to those of the Moslem beliefs - or to all people who dare set foot on Qatari soil ... err ... concrete? If the mother was actually one of the women on that flight, what would it have to do with the authorities (apart from re-uniting the infant with her mother - who obviously wanted no part in continuing the relationship) and what could they have done to a foreign national, momentarily alighting on what should be international territory? Surely, this is an issue of great concern as to what consideration other passengers travelling through this link could expect: apparently, total disregard for compassion, respect and dignity ... and legal obligations!
Having been there for transferring to a London link, I felt nothing except for us being treated like sheep (and ignorant ones at that). Flight attendants explained little - we just followed those who seemed to know what they should be doing. As a result, I determined never to travel via Doha again but choose a more friendly airline not using that link.
“We want a reasonable outcome and for positive steps to be taken guarantee the safety of women and more generally people in general travelling through Doha.” adds the article: this requires being shouted far louder than near the end of the article (which most people would not have reached anyway), as the implications are quite horrendous.

That these young women were forced to obey the whim of some official (as apparently neither government nor airline nor airport authority will have the courage to admit to any part in the forced abduction) for a religious system they do not adhere to is deplorable. That seemly no action has been taken by Qatar Airlines, Doha Airport nor Qatari officialdom to assure members of the flying public that such treatment of foreign nationals will never be repeated surely speaks to the need for air travellers to avoid the "services of the aforesaid agencies!

 

[Hel]

Does this law apply ONLY to those of the Moslem beliefs - or to all people who dare set foot on Qatari soil ... err ... concrete? If the mother was actually one of the women on that flight, what would it have to do with the authorities (apart from re-uniting the infant with her mother - who obviously wanted no part in continuing the relationship) and what could they have done to a foreign national, momentarily alighting on what should be international territory? Surely, this is an issue of great concern as to what consideration other passengers travelling through this link could expect: apparently, total disregard for compassion, respect and dignity ... and legal obligations!
Having been there for transferring to a London link, I felt nothing except for us being treated like sheep (and ignorant ones at that). Flight attendants explained little - we just followed those who seemed to know what they should be doing. As a result, I determined never to travel via Doha again but choose a more friendly airline not using that link.
“We want a reasonable outcome and for positive steps to be taken guarantee the safety of women and more generally people in general travelling through Doha.” adds the article: this requires being shouted far louder than near the end of the article (which most people would not have reached anyway), as the implications are quite horrendous.

That these young women were forced to obey the whim of some official (as apparently neither government nor airline nor airport authority will have the courage to admit to any part in the forced abduction) for a religious system they do not adhere to is deplorable. That seemly no action has been taken by Qatar Airlines, Doha Airport nor Qatari officialdom to assure members of the flying public that such treatment of foreign nationals will never be repeated surely speaks to the need for air travellers to avoid the "services of the aforesaid agencies!

If women weren't treated so abominably, they would not abandon their babies in waste baskets. No doubt it was a moslem woman, probably unmarried and fearing punishment - and rightly so. Totally unnecessary to do what they did anyway. A woman who had just given birth would be bleeding, easily spotted with no need for gyno exams. There is only one solution - don't go there!