Comparing Qatar to other countries and crying how 'oh it could be so much worse, look how bad it is over here!' is just a way not to hold Qatar and the people who live here-- local and expat-- accountable.
Look, I don't CARE what happens in other countries, how bad or how good it is. Comparing and contrasting doesn't change the situation in Qatar. this, and other issues like it, need to be addressed in the vaccuum that is Qatar.
So, we have a problem: there's an attitude in Qatar that men can't be held responsible for their actions towards women (you hear it all the time when it comes to women covering themselves up). the emphasis is put on the women to 'protect' themselves, as opposed to teaching men to behave properly. SO OF COURSE when something happens, there isn't a lot of drive for women to go to the authorities- it's a hard thing to do, particularly when you know the odds are stacked against you. Now, i'm not saying this is a us vs them or a race thing: but I do know from personal experience that as a Western, white woman, I am more likely to be questioned and assumed to be drunk or acting or dressing inappropriately than my arab or muslim friends. I've had taxi drivers make inappropriate comments, I've had a guy pull over while I was waiting at the curb for my friend and get out of his car to push me into his, I've had men in malls follow me around and security has told me there was NOTHING they could do to stop them.
I, frankly, am tired of being told it's my reponsbility to stop this and if I don't like it get out. Everyone in Qatar needs to help change this-- and we can't do that by getting bogged down in simantics about which country is worse or better. There are problems in Qatar. Yes there are problems everywhere but that doesn't change the fact there are still problems in Qatar.
Comparing Qatar to other countries and crying how 'oh it could be so much worse, look how bad it is over here!' is just a way not to hold Qatar and the people who live here-- local and expat-- accountable.
Look, I don't CARE what happens in other countries, how bad or how good it is. Comparing and contrasting doesn't change the situation in Qatar. this, and other issues like it, need to be addressed in the vaccuum that is Qatar.
So, we have a problem: there's an attitude in Qatar that men can't be held responsible for their actions towards women (you hear it all the time when it comes to women covering themselves up). the emphasis is put on the women to 'protect' themselves, as opposed to teaching men to behave properly. SO OF COURSE when something happens, there isn't a lot of drive for women to go to the authorities- it's a hard thing to do, particularly when you know the odds are stacked against you. Now, i'm not saying this is a us vs them or a race thing: but I do know from personal experience that as a Western, white woman, I am more likely to be questioned and assumed to be drunk or acting or dressing inappropriately than my arab or muslim friends. I've had taxi drivers make inappropriate comments, I've had a guy pull over while I was waiting at the curb for my friend and get out of his car to push me into his, I've had men in malls follow me around and security has told me there was NOTHING they could do to stop them.
I, frankly, am tired of being told it's my reponsbility to stop this and if I don't like it get out. Everyone in Qatar needs to help change this-- and we can't do that by getting bogged down in simantics about which country is worse or better. There are problems in Qatar. Yes there are problems everywhere but that doesn't change the fact there are still problems in Qatar.