Doha in the Persian Gulf has become the " hub " world airlines use as they criss-cross the world on passenger journeys. This week Qantas flight QR908, bringing returning Australians home from London, where they had been stranded by the coronavirus lockdown, made a four hour Doha stop-over.
They had just settled back on their jetliner for the last leg of the journey to Sydney when a surprise announcement required women passengers to return to the tarmac. The request was specific to women, and no explanation was offered.
Women from both the Qantas flight and other airlines were greeted by a line of waiting ambulances. Each ambulance was staffed by female medical personnel and each passenger was required to lower their underwear for a genital inspection.
Most strongly objected to this intrusion but eventually complied and it was later learned that a newborn baby had been found abandoned in one of the rest rooms reserved for airline passengers. The baby was alive, but obviously both it and its mother would be in need of medical attention, hence this strange request.
This genital inspection delivered no outcome and it is surmised that a local women with an unwanted pregnancy must have slipped into the passenger facilities. The fact that this action was ordered without explanation made it a frightening incident that thirteen Australian women passengers had imposed without their consent.
Perhaps a timely reminder that when we leave Australia and travel through other countries, we are required to obey the laws in force under those jurisdictions. In particular, the sexual act is strongly regulated in some parts of the world and transgressions outside of marriage can be punished by stoning to death of the guilty woman.
These laws differ widely depending on which religion is involved and how strictly it is enforced. Our Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, known here as " Dfat " are well versed in the known trouble areas. Australians travelling are well advised to lodge an itinerary of their intended travels with Dfat and be advised of problem areas they may encounter.
Apart from sex, the two other points of disagreement usually concern modesty and alcohol.. The shorts and bra tops popular in Australia would not meet the custom requirements in place in other parts of the world. Women with uncovered hair give offence in some countries and a little discretion pays dividends in avoiding conflict.
Alcohol in all its forms is totally banned in some parts of the world. Even having alcohol hidden away in luggage can be considered a serious offence if it is discovered in a customs search, but that medical inspection in Doha was certainly something that broke new ground for Dfat !
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