Tag Archives: Doha

Nationality + Migration, Religion + Belief

Qatar News | Christian Immigrants

Evangelical mega-community in Qatar granted construction permission for church
  • The Evangelical Churches Alliance Qatar (ECAQ), home to a multi-ethnic community of 1,200, will construct its building outside of central Doha.
  • The granting of building permits to churches is a recent phenomenon, with the first officially sanctioned church since pre-Islamic times going up in 2008.
  • Only Abrahamic faiths are officially recognized in Qatar, and within Christianity, churches must belong to a select group of sects or receive sponsorship from one of the recognized sects.

“They have supported us throughout. … The government has been very supportive in providing us permissions to hold worship sessions, meetings and other celebrations like our Family Days over the years.”

Read the full story at Doha News.

Gender, Nationality + Migration
Qatar Airways under fire for gender-discriminatory policies, including pregnancy discrimination and freedom to marry
  • The UN’s International Labor Organization has ruled that the state-funded airliner discriminated against women through contracts statements indicating it could terminate their contract should they become pregnant.
  • Employees also had to seek permission from the company for a change in marital status and could only be accompanied to the airport by a male if he were her father, brother, or husband.
  • Comprising 80% of the airline’s cabin crew (of which 90% are foreign workers), women remain vulnerable to discriminatory employment practices carried out under threat of deportation.

“This decision is a game-changer. …A year ago we put Qatar and Qatar Airways in the dock and today it has been proved that we were right to do so. The changes made to the rules for staff failed to fool the ILO. Now the airline must make them for real. It’s time to make Qatar Airways free from fear.”

More on this story at The Guardian.

(Image Credit: Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images, via The Guardian)