Oct 1, 2021: Qatari women are standing in the country’s first legislative election on Friday, but far fewer than men, sparking concerns that their influence on issues affecting women may be limited.
The first legislative elections will see native Qatari citizens elect 30 candidates of the 45-member Shura Council, in a landmark step towards a more representative system of governance.
Out of 284 candidates for the 30 available council seats, only 28 are women. For the remaining 15 seats, the rich will advise analysts that they can nominate several women to correct the imbalance in the body, who will draft laws and scrutinize ministers.
Analyst Elham Fakhr at International Crisis Group says “It’s a very positive step that women are part of this process. However, I think we do have to limit our expectations (of their influence)… as there are only 28 women running for positions — it really shouldn’t be surprising.”
One candidate, Lena Al-Difa, said that if elected, her priorities would be to promote education for women, help female teachers and citizenship for the children of Qatari women.
Qatari citizenship can currently only be inherited by children from their father, meaning that the children of a Qatari woman who marries someone of another nationality will not be citizens. This affects the ability to benefit from child grants, land distribution and other state aid in gas-rich UAE. She says the most important issues for her are the children and citizenship of Qatari women.
Dafa, an education official who is running in Qatar’s 17th district against two women and seven men, said competence was more important than gender.
“I do not see it as a competition between me and the men because I see the men as complementary to the legislative process.
“And we are talking about competencies, not gender,” she added, before addressing a small crowd of women voters at Qatar’s Education City golf club.
Representation of women in Qatar is stronger than in its Gulf neighbors, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with the Ministry of Health headed by a woman and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs represented by a spokesperson. Women play a significant role in the World Cup Organizing Committee, as well as in philanthropy and the arts, medicine, law and business.
The constitution of the conservative Muslim Gulf state of Qatar provides “equal opportunities for all citizens”.
Guardians are typically male relatives and can be fathers, brothers, uncles or cousins, but women cannot act as guardians for their children even if they are widowed.
According to the latest official figures, the number of men in Qatar is more than 2.6, largely due to the disproportionate number of migrant workers in Qatar who are men.
Qatari officials have previously insisted that “gender equality and women’s empowerment” is central to the Gulf state’s “success and vision.”
Last year, dozens of Qatari women took to social media to decry guardianship rules, particularly around the need for a male guardian’s permission to leave the country.
HRW previously acknowledged that Qatari women had “broken barriers and achieved significant progress”, pointing to the number of female graduates, which outstrips males, and the high per capita number of female doctors and lawyers.
Political parties are banned in Qatar, but citizens are allowed to vote in municipal elections. An electoral law, which differentiates between naturalised and native Qatari citizens, has drawn criticism from human rights groups and naturalised citizens alike, who say it effectively disenfranchises thousands of Qataris from voting or running.
The law, approved by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in July, states that citizens over the age of 18, “whose original nationality is Qatari” or are considered naturalised but can prove their grandfathers were born in Qatar, can vote. However, other naturalised citizens are ineligible to run for legislative bodies and are denied the right to vote.
Stay tuned to BaaghiTV for latest news and Updates!
Danish FM reaches Pakistan on two day visit
