List of issues and questions prior to the submission of the third periodic report of Qatar *

General

1.Please provide information and statistics, disaggregated by age, disability, ethnicity, minority status and nationality, on the current situation of women in the State Party, to enable monitoring of the implementation of the Convention. In accordance with the State Party’s obligations under articles 1 and 2 of the Convention, and in line with target 5.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals, to end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere, please indicate how the State Party intends to improve the collection and analysis of data pertaining to the areas covered by the Convention, so as to support policymaking and programme development and to measure progress towards the implementation of the Convention and the promotion of substantive equality between women and men, including with regard to the specific areas covered in the present document.

Reservations

2.In the light of the Committee’s previous recommendations (paras. 9 and 10), please provide information on the measures taken by the State Party to review and withdraw its reservations to articles 2 (a), 9 (2), 15 (1) and (4) and 16 (1) (a), (c) and (f) of the Convention, with particular emphasis on articles 2 and 16, given their centrality to the purpose and objective of the Convention.

Visibility of the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendations

3.In the light of the Committee’s previous recommendation (para. 12), please provide information on the steps taken:

(a)To raise awareness among Qatari society, public officials, the judiciary and law enforcement officers, about the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendations;

(b)To ensure that the Convention and the concept of substantive equality between women and men are sufficiently known among the general public and that women are aware of their rights under the Convention and the remedies available to claim violations of those rights;

(c)To establish and operationalize systematic and regular capacity-building to ensure that the Convention and the concept of substantive equality between women and men are known among government officials, judges and members of the Advisory Council so that the provisions of the Convention are effectively applied by all branches of government.

Constitutional and legislative framework

4.In the light of the Committee’s previous recommendations (para. 14), please provide detailed information on the steps taken:

(a)To ensure that national laws are aligned with the Convention, and to repeal discriminatory provisions related to nationality, marriage, divorce, custody, inheritance and property rights;

(b)To amend the Nationality Act to remove restrictions on women marrying foreigners and eliminate the requirement that unmarried women under 25 years of age obtain permission from a guardian to travel abroad;

(c)To adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that includes a comprehensive definition of discrimination against women encompassing direct and indirect discrimination in both the public and private spheres, as well as intersecting forms of discrimination, in accordance with articles 1 and 2 of the Convention;

(d)To ensure transparency in the application of the death penalty, including by publishing gender-disaggregated data on Qatari and migrant women in prison.

Women’s access to justice

5.In line with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 33 (2015) on women’s access to justice and in view of its previous recommendations (paras. 14 (d) and 16), please provide information on the measures taken:

(a)To ensure the independence and effectiveness of the justice system and to eliminate gender-biased practices, such as corroboration rules that place a disproportionate burden on women in legal proceedings;

(b)To remove barriers hindering access to justice for women and girls, particularly women with disabilities, migrant women and other women facing intersecting forms of discrimination, to provide free legal aid and independent interpretation services, and to ensure the equal treatment of the testimony of women in court;

(c)To repeal restrictive provisions in the Civil Code and other laws that restrict the legal capacity of women and girls with disabilities, with a view to ensuring equal access to justice;

(d)To ensure that women sentenced to death are not subjected to prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement, in accordance with the prohibition outlined in rules 43–45 of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules);

(e)To ensure that the criminal justice system takes into account mitigating factors related to women’s backgrounds, such as trauma, economic pressures, child marriage, domestic and gender-based violence, and psychosocial and intellectual disabilities, in its legal processes;

(f)To implement Act No. 12 of 2008 to establish a fully functional constitutional court;

(g)To incorporate the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendations into legal education for judges, prosecutors and lawyers.

National machinery for the advancement of women

6.In the light of the Committee’s previous recommendations (para. 18), please provide information on the measures taken:

(a)To strengthen the authority and capacity of the Department of Family Affairs, within the Ministry of Labour, to develop, monitor and implement legislation and policies aimed at achieving gender equality and ensure the implementation of such policies across all ministries and government offices;

(b)To provide the Department of Family Affairs with the visibility and human, technical and financial resources required for it to carry out effectively its mandate in relation to the equality of women and girls;

(c)To enhance coordination and collaboration between the Department of Family Affairs and other governmental and non-governmental bodies, including civil society organizations, in particular women’s rights groups, with a view to ensuring the consistent application of gender equality measures and evaluating the effectiveness of programmes and initiatives to advance women’s rights in all spheres of life;

(d)To strengthen the capacities of the National Mechanism for Implementation, Reporting and Follow-up, in particular in the areas of data collection, analysis and coordination with other governmental bodies, for the effective implementation of the Committee’s recommendations;

(e)To adopt and implement a clear strategy to consolidate and reinforce the capacity of the national machinery for the advancement of women and ensure that it has adequate decision-making power and human and financial resources, including trained experts on gender equality, to effectively fulfil its mandate and responsibilities in implementing the Convention and promoting gender mainstreaming across all government entities and legislative and policy areas.

National human rights institution

7.In the light of the Committee’s previous recommendations (para. 20), please provide information on the measures taken:

(a)To ensure that the National Human Rights Committee has adequate human, technical and financial resources, that the selection process for its members is transparent, merit-based and free from conflicts of interest, in line with the principles relating to the Status of National Institutions (the Paris Principles), and that it has a strong mandate to protect and promote women’s human rights;

(b)To fully implement the recommendations made by the National Human Rights Committee to bring national legislation in compliance with the Convention;

(c)To ensure that all cases of violations of women’s rights referred to the National Human Rights Committee for investigation are thoroughly examined, perpetrators are held accountable, and victims are provided with timely remedies.

Civil society organizations

8.In view of the Committee’s previous recommendation (para. 22), please provide information on the steps taken:

(a)To amend Act No. 12 of 2004 on associations and private organizations to create an enabling environment in which civil society, in particular women’s organizations and associations, can independently operate, advocate for women’s and girls’ human rights and gender equality and freely engage in political and public life;

(b)To engage in dialogue with independent civil society organizations, particularly those advocating for women’s and girls’ human rights, to ensure that their voices are heard and considered in policymaking, and to provide support to facilitate the activities of independent women’s organizations.

Temporary special measures

9.In line with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 25 (2004) on temporary special measures and in view of its previous recommendations (para. 24), please provide information on the measures taken:

(a)To introduce gender-specific incentives, clear time-bound goals, preferential treatment or parity quotas or targets in areas in which women are disadvantaged or underrepresented in the public and private spheres;

(b)To raise awareness among and provide capacity-building to government officials and policymakers and other relevant stakeholders on the non-discriminatory nature and application of temporary special measures.

Women and peace and security

10.Please provide information on the steps taken to develop and implement a national action plan, in line with Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security and subsequent resolutions, to ensure the equal representation of women in the formulation, adoption and implementation of such a plan, and to prioritize the meaningful and inclusive participation of women at all stages and levels of peacebuilding. In particular, please highlight efforts aimed at ensuring that women are actively involved in negotiations and decision-making at the national and international levels. Please describe how such efforts are aligned with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 30 (2013) on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations.

Stereotypes and harmful practices

11.In view of the Committee’s previous recommendations (para. 26), please indicate the measures taken:

(a)To work with religious leaders, men and boys, civil society and the media, including social media, to eliminate gender stereotypes and promote positive portrayals of women in all their diversity as active agents of change;

(b)To review and reform programmes aimed at strengthening family cohesion with a view to eliminating stereotypes that confine women to caregiving and childrearing roles;

(c)To eliminate the practical discrimination faced by women, in particular unmarried Qatari women under the age of 30, who are unable to rent apartments or check into hotels without the consent of a male guardian;

(d)To ensure that women facing capital charges receive fair trials, including equal consideration of their testimony and access to adequate legal representation;

(e)To collaborate with civil society organizations focused on advancing women’s rights with a view to enhancing the role of traditional and social media in eliminating discriminatory stereotypes about women;

(f)To prevent law enforcement officers and public officials from using digital technologies to promote gender discrimination, gender profiling and violence against women and girls and ethnic minorities.

Gender-based violence against women and girls

12.In the light of the Committee’s previous recommendations (para. 28) and in line with its general recommendation No. 35 (2017) on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19, please provide information on the measures taken:

(a)To adopt, within a specified time frame, comprehensive legislation criminalizing all forms of gender-based violence, including domestic violence and marital rape, and to establish a national plan of action to combat gender-based violence, which should include victim care and rehabilitation, as well as measures to promote the reporting of cases and to ensure accessible and effective redress for all victims;

(b)To ensure that victims of gender-based violence against women and girls, including women domestic workers, have effective access to justice, protection, support services, rehabilitation and redress, including adequate compensation, and that perpetrators are held accountable;

(c)To encourage reporting of gender-based violence against women and girls by addressing cultural and social stigma and ensuring that legal assistance and support services, including access to counselling, shelter, healthcare, and other essential services are available to women and girls who are victims of gender-based violence;

(d)To improve the collection, analysis and reporting of data on the prevalence of such violence, disaggregated by age and the relationship between the victim and perpetrator. In addition, please provide the number of cases of gender-based violence that have been investigated and prosecuted, including data on the sanctions that have been imposed on perpetrators to ensure accountability and deterrence, the number of women and girl victims who have been compensated for the harm caused by gender-based violence and data on the issuance of protection orders to safeguard victims from further harm;

(e)To repeal the provision in the Penal Code (Act No. 11 of 2004, as amended) that allows for the death penalty to be applied to women. In addition, please clarify the steps that are being taken to ensure that women are not subject to such extreme penalties for crimes committed against them;

(f)To decriminalize extramarital sex (zina) and address the disproportionate penalties imposed on women for such offences.

Trafficking and exploitation of women and girls in prostitution

13.In view of the Committee’s previous recommendations (para. 30), please provide detailed information on:

(a)The allocation of technical, financial and human resources for the effective implementation of the national plan to combat trafficking in women and girls, including for mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating progress under the plan. In addition, explain the legal framework and measures for ensuring that victims, particularly migrant women domestic workers, can report trafficking without fear of legal repercussions, and explain how victim and witness protection programmes are integrated into the relevant mechanisms;

(b)The steps taken to investigate, prosecute and punish all cases of trafficking in women and girls, including by ensuring proportionate sentences for perpetrators;

(c)Capacity-building for judges, prosecutors and law enforcement professionals to ensure the strict application of anti-trafficking laws and gender-sensitive treatment of victims of trafficking;

(d)The measures put in place to ensure early identification of trafficking victims and their referral to appropriate services, apply gender-responsive asylum procedures and establish and implement programmes for the rehabilitation and socioeconomic reintegration of trafficking victims, including migrant women;

(e)The measures taken to ensure that victims of trafficking are not charged or deported for violating labour or immigration laws, including in cases where potential victims of sex trafficking could be charged with extramarital sex (zina);

(f)Any legislative steps that have been taken to decriminalize women in prostitution and provide exit programmes, including alternative income opportunities, to women who wish to leave prostitution.

Participation in political and public life

14.In line with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 40 (2024) on the equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems and in view of its previous recommendations (para. 32), please provide detailed information on the measures taken:

(a)To ensure the equal and inclusive representation of women in political decision-making, in particular in the Advisory Council and in the government, through temporary special measures such as parity quotas, requiring political parties to nominate equal numbers of women and men as candidates at equal ranks on electoral lists, the preferential appointment of women, and campaign financing and political leadership training for women candidates;

(b)To address the underrepresentation of women in the judiciary, the foreign service and economic decision-making;

(c)To improve the participation of women in the public and private sectors, including in legislative and executive bodies. In particular, provide information on the appointment of women to high-level government positions, such as ministers and judges;

(d)To ensure the systematic collection of gender-disaggregated data across all sectors, including economics, politics and access to justice. In addition, please highlight how such data are used to inform policies and programmes aimed at addressing gender inequalities and promoting gender equality.

Nationality

15.In the light of the Committee’s previous recommendations (para. 34), please provide information on the measures taken:

(a)To amend the Nationality Act to allow Qatari women to confer nationality on their children and foreign spouses on an equal footing with men;

(b)To withdraw the State Party’s reservation to article 9 (2) of the Convention, ratify the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and adopt legislation on statelessness.

Education

16.Please provide information on the State Party’s efforts:

(a)To increase the participation of girls and women and their employment in such fields as science, technology, mathematics, information and communications technology, including artificial intelligence, health and pharmacology; help women students to join the labour force in their field of study; and ensure equal access to quality education for women and girls facing multiple forms of discrimination, including those with disabilities and migrant women;

(b)To remove gender stereotypes from school curricula and provide training to teachers on gender equality;

(c)To integrate age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health education into school curricula;

(d)To increase the representation of women in leadership and decision-making positions in higher education.

Employment

17.In view of the Committee’s previous recommendations (para. 38), please provide information on the measures taken:

(a)To abolish the requirement that Qatari women obtain consent from their male guardian to obtain employment, enhance access by women to formal employment and encourage women to choose non-traditional career paths;

(b)To introduce compulsory paternity or shared parental leave and expand childcare facilities to help women and men to reconcile work and family responsibilities;

(c)To amend the Labour Act to enshrine the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, and ratify the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) and other relevant International Labour Organization conventions;

(d)To repeal the discriminatory provisions contained in sections 94 and 95 of the Labour Act, which limit the employment opportunities available to women.

Health

18.Please provide information on the measures taken by the State Party:

(a)To legalize abortion in cases of rape, incest, threat to the life or health of the woman and severe fetal impairment and decriminalize it in all other cases;

(b)To ensure that women and girls, including migrant workers, refugees and asylum-seekers, have affordable access to adequate sexual and reproductive health services, including modern methods of contraception;

(c)To end mandatory HIV testing for women migrant workers, prohibit involuntary testing, and cease the deportation of women living with HIV/AIDS.

Economic and social benefits

19.Please provide information on the State Party’s efforts to review the Housing Act (Act No. 2 of 2007) and remove barriers faced by widows and divorced women in obtaining land grants and housing loans provided by the State Party due to the restrictive eligibility criteria under that Act, which require women to be single and over 35 years of age, or divorced or widowed for at least five years. Please clarify the steps being taken to improve the transparency of procedures for gaining access to such benefits to ensure that all women, in particular widows and divorced women, enjoy their housing rights and live with dignity.

Women migrant workers

20.In the light of the information received from the State Party on follow-up to the concluding observations on its second periodic report (CEDAW/C/QAT/FCO/2), please provide detailed information on the situation of women migrant workers and on the measures taken:

(a)To ensure labour protection for women domestic workers under the Labour Act (Act No. 14 of 2004) effective labour inspections, including of private households, and adequate penalties for abusive employers;

(b)To adopt legal measures to ensure that domestic workers are granted the same legal protection as other women migrant workers whose rights are covered under the Labour Act (Act No. 14 of 2004), in particular the right to sick leave, the right to maternity-related benefits and protections, and the right to establish or join labour unions, and develop and implement measures for labour inspection, enforcement and penalties with due regard for the special characteristics of domestic work;

(c)To abolish the kafalah system in practice and ensure that women migrant workers, in particular domestic workers, have effective access to legal aid and complaint mechanisms, shelters and rehabilitation services;

(d)To ensure adequate treatment and conditions for migrant women, especially pregnant women and women with children, who are detained in the Doha deportation centre, in line with the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules). In addition, please provide information on the complaints by migrant women about gender-based violence against women, including sexual violence, at the centre and the outcomes of those complaints;

(e)To guarantee consular assistance for migrant women charged with offences eligible for the death penalty, as required by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 22 April 1963;

(f)To ensure that guarantees are offered to women migrant workers in the event of the expiration or termination of their employment contracts, particularly with regard to facilitating their dignified return to their home countries;

(g)To ratify the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189).

Women and girls with disabilities

21.Please provide updated information on the measures taken to include women and girls with disabilities in all policies and strategies aimed at promoting equal opportunities for women and men, in particular with regard to accessible and inclusive education, employment, access to justice, protection against violence, access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, and poverty reduction programmes. Please report on the measures to ensure that the right to free and informed consent prior to any medical treatment is guaranteed for women with disabilities and on any existing exceptions to that universal right. Please indicate the measures adopted to protect women with disabilities who live in institutions from violence and abuse and to eliminate practices involving physical and mechanical restraints. Please provide information on restrictions on the legal capacity of women with disabilities. Please indicate any temporary special measures, including quotas, taken by the State Party to increase the number of women with disabilities employed in the public service and in the private sector and enrolled in higher education institutions.

Gender and climate change

22.In the light of the Committee’s previous recommendations (para. 44), please indicate the measures taken by the State Party:

(a)To ensure the equal participation of women in the development and implementation of climate change initiatives, including the National Committee on Climate Change and the Global Dryland Alliance;

(b)To incorporate a gender perspective into climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, addressing the specific impacts on women and girls.

Marriage and family relations

23.In view of the Committee’s previous recommendations (para. 50), please provide information on the measures taken by the State Party:

(a)To raise the minimum age for marriage to 18 years for women and men, prohibit child marriage in law and in practice, remove all exceptions, and ensure that women can freely marry without the permission of a guardian;

(b)To prohibit polygamy and raise awareness about its harmful effects on women. In addition, please provide information on whether women in polygamous unions have access to legal recourse, such as the ability to promptly seek a divorce on the basis of polygamy and to seek child custody and support;

(c)To address discriminatory legal provisions and judicial practices that reportedly place women in divorce proceedings at a disadvantage with respect to child custody and guardianship and to inheritance and other family law matters.

Ratification of other treaties

24.Please provide information on the progress made by the State Party towards ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention.

Additional information

25.Please provide any additional information deemed relevant with regard to legislative, policy, administrative and other measures taken to implement the provisions of the Convention and the Committee’s concluding observations since the consideration of the State Party’s second periodic report (CEDAW/C/QAT/2) in 2019 and the information received from the State Party on follow-up to the concluding observations on that report (CEDAW/C/QAT/FCO/2) in 2021. Such measures may include recent laws, developments, plans, programmes and ratifications of human rights instruments, as well as any other information that the State Party considers relevant. Please also provide information on the measures taken to integrate a gender perspective into all efforts aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Please note that, further to the issues raised in the present document, the State Party will be expected, during the dialogue, to respond to additional questions relating to areas covered by the Convention.