UN Authority Figures

UN Commission on the Status of Women: Qatar

"Woman wearing abeyya and veil". Qatari Dress: What to Wear, April 30, 2006

Mission of the Commission on the Status of Women: "The Commission on the Status of Women...is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. It is the principal global policy-making body. Every year, representatives of Member States gather at United Nations Headquarters in New York to evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide." (Commission on the Status of Women web-site, "Overview")

Term of office: 2005-2009

Qatar's Record on Women's rights:
"...Women continue to face societal gender discrimination, and few legal mechanisms are available for them to contest instances of discrimination..." (Freedom House Country Report on Qatar 2007)

"The official interpretation of Shari'a imposes some restrictions on Muslim women. Muslim wives have the right to inherit from their husbands. Non-Muslim wives inherit nothing, unless a special exception is arranged. Shari'a is also applied in cases of divorce. Both parents retain permanent rights of visitation; however, local authorities do not allow a non-citizen parent to take his or her child out of the country without permission of the citizen parent. Women may attend court proceedings. They are generally represented by a male relative...According to Shari'a, the testimony of two women equals that of one man..." (US State Department's Country Report on International Religious Freedom 2006, Qatar)

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