Five Australian women are suing Qatar Airways and the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority over forced vaginal exams at the Doha airport two years ago.
In October 2020, several women on a Qatar Airways flight headed to Sydney were pulled off for an invasive gynecological exam and told to remove their underwear, some at gunpoint.
Officials later apologized for the controversial incident and an airport officer who arranged the searches was arrested and given a suspended sentence.
The women are now seeking damages over the “unlawful physical contact” and damage to their mental health, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The incident happened due to the discovery of an abandoned newborn in the airport bathroom, a problem in the ultraconservative country where women who conceive outside of marriage risk imprisonment.
The baby survived and the parents were later found, reportedly from “Asian countries” according to officials. Qatar has a large number of migrant workers from South Asian nations.
