Policy
officials in their country as well, so we and monitor what’s going on. All you
Dr Ghalia Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani
was educated in Lebanon (where her father was
posted as the Ambassador of Qatar) and fin-
ished her schooling in Qatar. She did her med-
ical studies in Jordan and graduated in 1987,
and her Paediatrics specialisation in the United
Kingdom and graduated in 1992.
She was employed by HMC in 1987, but has
been working continuously since 1992.
Dr Ghalia Mohammed is now the Chairperson
of Paediatrics Department at HMC.
She is also a Member of the UN Committee for
the Rights of the Child and the vice-chairperson
of the National Committee on Human Rights
30 Qatar Today February 2005
Women
losing focus
From the ban on children camel jockeys to the
deterioration of the family unit, Dr Ghalia
voices her opinion on what is going right and
what is not, in the Qatari society
By Vani Saraswathi
I
t was in her words, ‘one of the hap-
piest days of her life’. Dr Ghalia
Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Thani is
a woman who wears many hats, and all
with equal panache.
Qatar Today sat down with this multi-
faceted lady on the day the ban on
using children below the age of 18 as
camel jockeys was announced. A ban
that was the fruition of years of
focussed effort by Dr Ghalia Al Thani
and likeminded compatriots.
In an exclusive interview she speaks
of the different roles she plays – physi-
cian, human right activist and home-
maker, and of the challenges facing
Qatari women in a new era of equal
rights and enlightenment.
The ban has been a while in the
pipeline, and now that it has been
announced, what lies ahead?
You have caught me on a very good
day. Probably one of the happiest days
of my life. It (the ban) is a dream
come true.
I have known that it was always
going to happen. Qatar has always
been instrumental in setting the rule for
the whole region; in the way it protects
human rights, democracy. All of the
standards that we believe in as a cul-
ture and as a religion. But there were
some difficulties in getting it to
see light.
We recognised the problem a few
years ago. I can’t remember when was
the first time we reported a case. But we
didn’t realise the scope of the problem
from the beginning... but it is wonder-
ful that we have now handled the prob-
lem and slapped a ban. I do not wish to
dwell on what happened before. We
need to now focus on the fact that Qatar
will not now train, or recruit, or involve
children under the age of 18 to conduct
the races.
What plans to rehabilitate the existing
children?
We already do. We have children now
who have had some sort of permanent
damage because of injuries sustained
when they fell off the camels. We have
a couple of them with us here in the
hospital whom we are rehabilitating.
Other children who have had surgery
or treatment have gone home – back to
their countries (primarily Sudan and
Somalia).
How many are there now?
I am not sure how many are there now
at Shahaniya. But at any given time
there is an average about 50 kids there.
What is the plan if you can’t find
their families?
We can find their families. These chil-
dren come in with individuals, and
most of the time these individuals were
either uncles or cousins. So there is a
link. It is not like they are thrown here
and the escort went away. I don’t think
we will face that major problem. We
have done some very good work with
are not worried about them being
stranded here.
Was this part of your work as a
member of the UN committee on
child rights?
Not quite. In Qatar, nationally I have
focussed on two to three areas. I
worked for a while on disabilities and I
now work with children in general. I
Chair the Committee of Childhood at
the Supreme Council for Family Affairs
and I also Chair a committee that has
been appointed to combat human
trafficking.
And the main focus of that committee
was child camel jockeys and our main
aim was to ban children from partici-
pating in these races.
At the level of UN a lot of work has
been done to ban camel jockeys in sev-
eral countries. And what we have done
is to make recommendations to all
countries that comply with the conven-
tion and also the International Labour
Organisation (ILO), which stipulates
that children under the age of 18 cannot
be employed in hazardous jobs.
I have completed almost four years
as a member of the UN committee and
it has been a rich experience.
In the UN, what we do is monitor
countries of the world that are party to
the convention on rights of the child.
This is a convention that is most univer-
sally ratified. And we keep an eye on
how countries are progressing on the
achievements of the rights of children
in their country.
Have the GCC states ratified this?
Yes, all of them.
There is also the issue of domestic
workers...
The other focus of the committee on
trafficking is migrant workers, specifi-
cally domestic workers. For migrant
workers there is a new labour court set
up. And it really extends them plenty
of protection.
But there is a certain category of
migrant workers that do not have ade-
quate protection and they need some
help. These are the domestic servants.
The problem with domestic servants is
that because of the specificity of their
jobs, it is difficult to go into the homes
can do is raise awareness as to what
rights they have and make sure they
lead a dignified life.
We do have contracts for them; nev-
ertheless we find these contracts are not
completely adhered to. And the domes-
tic servants don’t know their rights. We
have to raise awareness about their
rights and urge them to ask for it. And
we have to raise awareness among
employers as well, that these are the
rights of those workers and that it has
to be upheld.
At the same time we have to find a
mechanism that will make sure that this
is going on.
Do you work with the embassies
on this?
Yes, there is some work with them. The
embassies really do their job. They
make sure that contracts are signed. But
it is a social problem – our society is
very good no doubt. We don’t have that
many reported cases of abuses or
wages that are not paid. They are occa-
sional. We have requested information
on cases that are filed with the police.
And I must say there are not many.
But we feel we can do better, and we
feel we can legalise the way we protect
domestic servants.
Increasingly we see Qatari women in
decision-making roles, be it in the
education sector or health or
businesses. And all this has been
rather recent, what were your
experiences at the beginning of
your career?
When I came back from the UK in 1992,
Robots to replace
children
On December 29, 2004, Qatar
announced that it was banning the use
of children as jockeys in camel races.
The Cabinet, headed by the Prime
Minister H H Sheikh Abdullah bin
Khalifa Al Thani, at a meeting
approved taking all necessary meas-
ures to ban recruitment and use of
children as jockeys in camel races.
Qatar is preparing to substitute
robots for jockeys from next year.
The remote-controlled jockey,
which costs just under $5,500, is
being developed by a Swiss firm at a
cost of $1.37 million in an experiment
sponsored by the Qatari government,
which has the rights to the device.
Made of titanium, it is designed to
look like a small human armed with
an electronic whip. It is controlled
from the touchlines by an armchair
jockey manning a joystick and com-
puter screen.
More sophisticated models will be
equipped with cameras in their eye
sockets that will transmit a jockey’s-
eye view of the racetrack back to the
controller. An earlier, more rudimen-
tary version was said to have been a
great success when it was used in a
trial several months ago. To ensure
the robotic jockeys are widely used,
the organising committee of camel
races is buying 100 of the devices and
will rent them out at prices sub-
sidised by the government.
February 2005 Qatar Today 31
 Policy

Because it happened the way it did, it can avoid it if we are smart enough. ed. We need to learn from those mis-

Research to be stepped up happened strong, that’s why the social

change came smoothly and easily.
What worries me now, is that women
are losing focus, when they are gaining
takes, and not let it happen in
our society.
Those of us, who did have some trou- all their rights, all of it... there are very We are already losing the extended
ble, didn’t have to suffer long. few issues left and those few are being family. That has already deteriorated
addressed actively. around the edges. It is still there, but it
In Qatar the revolution seems to be Qatari women, who have got all their is getting smaller and smaller. The least
top down... rights overnight, have somehow lost we can do is make sure that the nuclear
That is 100 per cent true. their focus on the most important thing, family stays strong. Although there is a
which is the home. certain obligation of the state, the gov-
How do you maintain a balance And their role in the home is much ernment, the main obligation falls on
between work and family? more important than it is anywhere society to hold on to its values and its
I have been very lucky. I have been else. The majority have not been able morals. And there is no need to lose it,
blessed. I had a very supportive family keep the balance. Funny thing is that just because the country is getting
before I got married - my father espe- they are all not necessarily working. westernised.
cially. Mothers are always supportive. Working women have a better ability
Fathers tend to be a little more conser- of managing their time. Because the Is it because we tend to say
vative, but I had a forward thinking whole day is structured, so they can Westernised instead of Developed,
father. And I got married to a very dedicate different parts of the day to because the Asian society in general is
With over a decade’s experience at Hamad Medical “There are a lot of different levels of research. We know understanding person. In my close cir- different issues. Non-working women, very much family oriented?
Corporation (HMC), and being part of the dynamic changes for a fact that Qatar Foundation (QF) is working on estab- cle I don’t have many issues or prob- I have found, are more likely to lose Yes, but when we say a country is
taking place at the Corporation, Sheikha Ghalia gives us an lishing a very good basis for research in the country and we lems. They have always encouraged me time, to waste time. developing, we mean developing to the
idea about the direction the Corporation has taken. know that HMC is also working towards establishing solid to go further and work harder. standards of the West. With all the good
Along with technological advancements there has been a medical research. Cornell is going to introduce good At the same time this kind of support Like? and the bad that comes with it.
deliberate attempt to change attitudes and work culture. research. We are not going to wait for the new medical city gives you more of a moral obligation that I hate sitting in the clinic and seeing a A lot of good will come from it: edu-
“Physicians now recognise the importance of being interna- to come up for us to start our research project.” you have to keep the balance. You have to child coming to the clinic with the cation, health, infrastructure, open mar-
tionally accredited. Few years ago all hospitals used to She also hopes to see more decentralisation in the medical give them in return what they are giving nanny and not with the mother or the kets. But along with it you are import-
work independently of each other. Good academic centres, city. “The whole of HMC will become more decentralised. you. It is exhausting, but it’s a pleasure. father. And this is a phenomenon I am ing certain other values, which again
like HMC, have now realised, international standards are That is our ambition. And I do believe that this is the way For me there is no emotional strug- seeing frequently. have both positives and negatives.
very important and accreditation is very important. And forward. More autonomy for the new hospitals: the new gle, it’s just physical. It is knowing how I also hate the fact that sometimes the There are wonderful things like democ-
the fact that we became affiliated to Cornell Medical children’s hospital will work under the umbrella of HMC to balance your time. And I feel an child comes with the mother and the racy and freedom of thought and
College gave us more ambition to really become a world- but will be autonomous. The same goes for the trauma cen- intelligent woman can do everything. nanny, and then you ask the mother speech... but the bad things are loss of
renowned centre for excellence in research and education tre.” We can be great managers, housekeep- something to do with the child and she family values, lack of discipline in cer-
and medical services.” The Children’s hospital that originally was planned as a ers, mothers... we can do all at the same needs to ask the nanny to find out. This tain areas, lack of respect between gen-
According to Sheikha Ghalia this is also becoming more 328-bed hospital will now co-ordinate its facilities with the time. It is about time management and worries me so much. Because losing the erations... In our societies the respect
evident in attitudes of staff towards patients and the way Speciality Teaching Hospital (STH) being planned by QF. little bit of sacrifice. Your fun time mother – you can lose her with her that the younger generation has for the
they work with each other as well. “We are working as one and not competing with each maybe cut... physically being there – means for sure older generation does not exist in the
“We are working on getting accredited by the Joint other, we are planning to have all the required bed capacity that the family unit is going to West. It would be so sad if we lose that.
Commission International and aim to get accredited by for the children between the two hospitals. This is work in But do you have any fun time at all? break-up. It is a difficult thing to keep and main-
2006. progress and we haven’t decided on the final numbers. STH I manage... I love reading. I know it’s a This is the major challenge for tain, but it is not impossible.
On whether the Hamad Medical City, being planned will work very closely with HMC’s Women’s hospital and cliche, and everyone says that. But that women. Now that they know they can
post-Asiads, will step up research, she says that they would the Children’s hospital. So that all the work is complemen- is what I love to do. Reading for pleas- do whatever they want, they can fulfil What is your advice for the young
not be waiting that long. tary and not competitive.” ure, just about anything... not their dreams; the challenge is to not lose women, on the threshold of a
work related. focus on the reality and the importance serious career?
and started working, I had some wor- spotlight. Never reaching a stage where some social struggles. Although we got of the family unit. It would be to go for it. Don’t let any-
ries and concerns. That being an ambi- they would shine. the political support, we had to still What is the greatest challenge for thing stand in your way. But don’t lose
tious person I might not be able to But almost overnight, you saw this deal with our own social difficulties. Arab women, given the changing This is something that is happening your moral and cultural background.
achieve what I aspire to because of the changing. And suddenly you heard Some of us could not have our pictures social dynamics? worldwide isn’t it? Hold on to it for dear life. Because this
social limitations, because of the fact about an under secretary for education taken or appear in newspapers. Some Let me tell you my honest opinion, at Yes. But as I said, we are blessed with so is what will keep you going, and keep
that our society is so conservative and (who is now the Minister of Education), of us could not travel, let alone appear the risk of upsetting some of my many things. It is a small country, a you strong. There are a lot of positive
women do not really appear in the suddenly you saw people at the univer- in a photograph. women colleagues... and I will talk small population, it is very wealthy. It is things in our culture that protect and
open. Even if they did get very good sity excelling and setting very good The social change followed the polit- specifically about Qatari women. starting almost from scratch, so it can support us. And don’t lose focus; be
education. They have been educated standards. ical change... and this happened very I see that they are losing their focus. learn from bad experiences of other smart.
for many years and they have been These ladies did not appear sudden- quickly. If it were to happen the other And I am not talking about working countries. It is a conservative country, And when they start their careers
doing some excellent work in the min- ly. They were always there. They were way around – the social change before women alone. I am talking about with a strong sense of religion, which they have to be the best in whatever
istry of education for example. But they always highly qualified. They had their the political commitment and desire - it women in general. The importance of should keep it rooted. There is no rea- they do. They have to give it everything
have never been allowed to appear in positions and they were working hard. would have taken much longer, when the home is losing its value. son for it to lose its values. they have. And when they get married
the open, they had to do their work in They just needed political support. you would have needed to change a This is a price that every society that We have seen in other countries, as it and have their children, they should
the shadow of the men, never in the Almost all of us in my generation had whole generation. is becoming westernised is paying. We developed, the family unit deteriorat- also be best at that. n

32 Qatar Today February 2005 February 2005 Qatar Today 33