What It Means For Woman To Travel For FIFA World Cup Amidst Qatar Restrictions

Recently, former FIFA President Sepp Blatter stated that it was a huge mistake to Qatar host the FIFA World CUP 2022. Blatter's statement came after FIFA ambassador and former Qatari football player Khalid Salman made derogatory remarks on homosexuality, terming it a mental health issue. That's not all, Qatar's laws are hugely unfavourable for women and are curtailed when it comes to the rights of the female gender will be, one way or another, a huge setback for women travelling from across the world to watch the world cup that is slated to last a month.

In a country where the rights of women are restricted by laws and homosexuality is considered 'damage in mind,' hosting the much-awaited FIFA World Cup in the country has started to sound like a flawed idea, six days short of the opening ceremony.

Suggested Reading: Qatar FIFA World Cup Ambassador Calls Homosexuality ‘Damage In Mind’

Qatar may have gone through a transformation in the past few decades but a lot of its laws still do not do right by its females, and this is a huge problem not only for Qatari women but for all those travelling to the Arab country to watch their favourite game. This may probably be the first time that a FIFA World Cup has generated so much attention for concerns beyond the game. For women football fans and members of the LGBTQIA+ community,

Qatar's strict laws curbing women's rights have been in the limelight for some time now. In 2021, a Human Rights Watch report revealed that the country's systematic implementation of male guardianship takes away the basic rights of women to make their own decisions, and that is where the entire problem begins. Women not being able to make decisions around their lives without the permission of the men in their lives is discriminatory and regressive. The report titled 'Everything I have to do is tied to a man,' discloses how females in the country cannot go forward without obtaining men's persimmon whether it's for moving abroad to study or work in government jobs. Qatar has been claiming that they're a transformed nation but if women still are seeking permission to marry and have to listen to the men in their lives to decide upon their reproductive healthcare, and not get any authority as their children's primary guardians, the transformation seems petty and heavily flawed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country may have declared that everyone is welcome in their country and there is absolutely no fear of safety, but the recent remarks by Khalid Salman stating people will have to behave within the laws indicate a completely different story.

This isn't to disregard all the achievements that a lot of Qatari women have had over the years despite the law acting against them, and to do well for themselves may have taken an enormous mountain to climb considering they may have observed, criticised, and belittled by the men in their family every step of the way.

Women Travelling To FIFA World Cup: The Dos and Dont's 

In October 2020, five Australian women were forcibly deplaned at gunpoint in Doha and were subjected to unnecessary intimate examination without their consent, without any kind of explanation rendered to them. The women, having gone through serious mental health issues owing to the incident, are now suing Qatar Airways and the government-owned Qatar Civil Aviation Authority over unlawful physical contact. The search was for the mother of an infant who was found abandoned in a plastic bag at the Hamad international airport departure lounge. While some women were forced to remove their underwear, some were instructed to undergo invasive gynaecological exams to seek evidence of whether they had recently given birth or not.

The court case comes a few days before the run-up to the football tournament and apart from its stringent laws, there's much more to be considered for the safety of women travellers.

Women football enthusiasts from all over the world are travelling to Qatar to watch their favourite games and players. SheThePeople recently spoke with Naaji Noushi, a female solo travel vlogger, who is a huge fan of the game and is travelling to Qatar from Kerala on a road trip. Noushi, who travelled from Kerala to Mumbai via road, will continue the road journey from Oman to Qatar in her Indian-made vehicle. While Noushi is a little acquainted with the Arab countries, thousands of women are travelling for the first time, and the growing concerns around their safety seem to be a worldwide problem. Recently, the government of the UK released guidelines for its citizens travelling to Qatar on how they can deal with issues there. The guidelines state how they can abide by local customs and what they might face if not adhered to.

Governments are advising their citizens to dress moderately in public in Qatar, an issue that is considered huge in the Arab nation, as they are expected to cover their shoulders and avoid wearing short dresses. Apart from dressing, any kind of intimacy in public is strictly prohibited for heterosexuals. For same-sex couples, there is no rule because homosexuality is not acknowledged in the country in the first place, leave alone its understanding. It's a crime, as clearly stated by many officials in public, and it will be held against the law if any incident of homosexual couples engaging in intimacy is reported.

The guidelines that The Week has listed surface that it is illegal for unmarried couples to live together in the country or have any kind of sexual relationship and that if found having one, it will lead to arrest and deportation.

Sexual Violence in sporting events

It is not news that a lot of sexual violence and harassment happens at major sporting events, in stadiums and outside of them. Several activists have raised concerns over Qatar's laws around sexual intercourse which are biased against women. It has always been difficult for women to report acts of sexual violence in the country because the laws do not support them from the word go,  the strongest and most complicated laws make it a whole web of a struggle for women survivors to go through and hence several women choose to avoid reporting in the first place.

A publication recently released a report where it was alleged that several women football viewers during the upcoming tournament may face harsh punishment or prosecution if they face sexual harassment and go forward to report it because the laws are formulated in a way that works against them. It is alleged that survivors may also be denied access to medical care or facilities if they're unmarried.

Instead of all of the concerns around women's rights, The Athletic contacted the Qatari government seeking their latest stance on how they would support women from across nations. The Qatari official stated their law protects all people, irrespective of gender. Any assault would be criminalised and access to justice will be given through Qatar’s legal system. Although the officials released the statement declaring that their nation protects women's rights without and outside their country, it still seems like a huge concern considering the country has failed its women time and again when it came to their fundamental rights, at the very least.