Human Rights Watch slams Qatar’s male guardianship laws in rare negative coverage

Human Rights Watch slams Qatar’s male guardianship laws in rare negative coverage

In a rare negative coverage against women's rights in Qatar, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report on Monday slamming the country's male guardianship laws that restrict women's independence.

"Qatar's discriminatory male guardianship system denies women the right to make many key decisions about their lives,“ according to the report by HRW, titled "Everything I Have to Do is Tied to a Man.“

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HRW's negative reports on Qatar are infrequent, and the NGO rarely criticizes women's rights in the country.

There are over 44 pieces on Saudi Arabia published by HRW, including reports, news releases, statements, letters, and commentary, while there are only three full reports on Qatar and several news releases.

Reports on labor

HRW has published news releases and only two reports on Qatar's migrant worker abuses, while it has dedicated many reports on Saudi Arabia, paying special attention to women's rights in the Kingdom.

Qatar's profile page on the HRW website reads that it "has introduced significant labor reforms allowing migrant workers to change jobs without employer permission and setting a higher and non-discriminatory minimum wage,“ while Saudi Arabia's page on HRW does not mention the Kingdom's latest labor