UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 19) Overall Family Strategy 2010: The Overall Family Strategy aims to empower, protect and ensure the welfare of the family and family members. It consists of eight main themes, namely: affirmation of the Arab and Islamic identity of the family; promotion of the status of the family in society; dissemination of education, including within the family; eradication of illiteracy; family health care and improvement of the available preventive and therapeutic services; improvement of family living conditions; promotion of cultural values in the family; development of the scientific and technological potential of the family; broadening the participation of family members in decision-making; and protection of the family against all forms of exploitation and violence.

Para 20) Family Cohesion and Empowerment of Women Strategy 2011-2016: This strategy is one of the 14 component sectoral strategies of the National Development Strategy and comes under the umbrella of social development. Responsibility for the launch and follow-up to this strategy has been assigned to the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, in coordination with founding partners. The three main themes of the strategy are family cohesion, family welfare and the empowerment of women.

Para 61) Since the submission of the initial report, the Council has established a number of institutions for the family, children, women, persons with disabilities and the elderly and has implemented numerous activities and programmes including, by way of example, the following: ...
- Implementation by the Council of an annual programme bringing together experts and others concerned with issues related to the family at which the problems and challenges facing the family in Qatar are addressed. The first meeting, entitled "Curbing divorce in Qatar: policy proposals", was held in April 2011 and was followed by the second meeting of experts, entitled "Family counselling services in Qatar: challenges and goals", in April 2012. The third meeting, entitled "Towards achieving work-life balance for women", was held in April 2013;
- Celebration of National Family Day on 15 April every year, as established by the Council of Ministers at its first ordinary session on 5 January 2011. Numerous meetings and seminars are held to mark the day at which issues pertaining to the family and family counselling services are discussed, in addition to social phenomena relating to the family;
- Preparation of a guide for welfare and protection service providers in order to enhance the role of the family, to protect the family and to empower individual family members by means of access to those services, and also to enhance the role of service providers by highlighting the services and the activities that they offer;
- Publication in 2013 by the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Family Counselling Centre, the Qatari Foundation for the Protection of Women and Children (Al-Aman), the Social Rehabilitation Centre (Al-Uwayn), the Qatari Foundation for the Elderly (Al- Ihsan), the Shafallah Centre for Children with Special Needs and the Cultural Centre for Childhood of a report, entitled "The family from the perspective of social protection and welfare institutions". The report reviews and assesses the situation of families in particular circumstances (such as families caring for the elderly or the young or for persons with disabilities, low-income families, family members from broken homes and victims of domestic violence) and other categories targeted by welfare and social protection programmes in terms of the services provided to them. In addition, the report highlights the need to develop policies, to lobby and to develop relevant statistics and indicators to keep pace with policymaking and planning needs. The report is aimed at decision makers and programme planners working in government agencies, civil society institutions, universities and scientific research centres, regional and international organizations, the media and interested members of the community.

National Report:
Para 32) As part of outreach activities to protect women and children, the Qatar Foundation for the Protection of Women and Children has continued to combat discrimination against women by promoting a culture of women's rights and equality of opportunity. It has done so through a number of programmes, including by: ... Holding seminars, workshops and conducting campaigns to combat sexual violence against women and to raise the awareness of women and society in order to address and tackle anomalous practices, in addition to developing the legal and procedural systems in order to ensure that women enjoy comprehensive, integrated protection.

National Report:
Para 27) The Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs was brought into being pursuant to Amiri Decree No. 4 of 2016. The Ministry includes the Family Affairs Department, which is the competent authority for all matters pertaining to women and seeks to enhance the status and role of women in society and to maintain strong and cohesive families in which children are cared for and which abide by sound moral and religious values. The Family Affairs Department also helps to enact national strategies, plans and policies related to women, to provide social welfare and to develop and follow up on social development programmes, in coordination with the competent authorities.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 18) AI expressed concern over the government’s sweeping reservations. Through lodging these reservations, Qatar has refused to fully recognize equal rights for women, including in matters of personal status laws, and has also stated that it will interpret the term “punishment” in line with the Islamic Shari’a.
Para 21) JS4 also stated that the sweeping reservations made to ICCPR and ICESCRs in respect to gender equality and declarations that appear to undermine the object and purpose of the Covenants, were regrettable, and that the gaps in domestic law and policy and the challenges that many individuals and groups faced in relation to their right to a nationality, detailed below, were all in clear violation of the international obligations of Qatar.
Para 28) According to AI, laws that discriminate against women came particularly to the fore in the context of the Gulf crisis that began in June 2017, when some governments severely restricted ties with Qatar as part of a political dispute. In line with citizenship and family laws across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the children of Qatari mothers and non-Qatari fathers are not automatically entitled to citizenship. So when some countries called their nationals back from Qatar and prevented Qatari nationals from entering their territory many families were split up.
Para 51) ODVV stated that Qatar women faced discrimination in law and practice, and that personal status laws continued to discriminate against women in relation to marriage, divorce, inheritance, child custody, nationality and freedom of movement.
Para 52) AI stated that in Qatar, women continued to face discrimination in law and practice. Family law discriminates against women, including by making it much harder for women to seek a divorce than for men, and placing women at a severe economic disadvantage if they seek a divorce or if their husbands leave them.

National Report:
Para 82) • In 2017, the gender equality index for education stood at 95.3 per cent…

UN Compilation:
Para 44) UNESCO noted that the official data showed very similar enrolment rates for females and males in compulsory education, as well as similar literacy rates for females and males aged 15 years and older, and that Qatar had a plan to open other technical and specialized schools, such as a school of science and technology.