Despite the global battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, air carriers are still flying their airliners around in an effort to recuperate costs impacted by border restrictions and other safety measures put in place to curb the spread of the virus.
As long as passengers follow the guidelines, everything should be okay.
But things turned into a hellish nightmare for the female passengers aboard a flight from Qatar's Hamad International Airport in Doha.
Airport authorities found a premature newborn baby in one of the toilets. This prompted an airport-wide search for the mother, who they believed was still alive.
But nobody expected the authorities to do what they did next.
On a Sydney-bound Qatar Airways flight, Qatari security agents rounded up all female passengers, including 13 Australians, escorted them off the plane, and into two waiting ambulances stationed outside the airport.
What took place in those ambulances? Forced genital examinations. More specifically, authorities were looking for signs that a woman had recently given birth.
"(Officials) were forcing women to undergo invasive body searches – basically forced Pap smears," a source familiar with the matter told AFP.
When the women returned to the aircraft, some were seen in tears, a reflection of the terrible ordeal they were subjected to, without any consent. The operation also caused a four-hour delay to this particular flight, inconveniencing everyone on board.
In a statement released by Doha's Hamad International Airport, it was revealed that authorities were looking for women who had access to the areas near where the newborn was found. But as to how many different flights and women were involved, it remains unclear.
"Individuals who had access to the specific area of the airport where the newborn infant was found were asked to assist in the query," the airport's statement reads. "The newborn infant remains unidentified, but is safe under the professional care of medical and social workers."
How did the Australian government react to all of this?
Well, it's safe to say no one was pleased.
"The advice that has been provided indicates that the treatment of the women concerned was offensive, grossly inappropriate, and beyond circumstances in which the women could give free and informed consent," a spokeswoman with Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne's office said in a statement.
According to the spokeswoman, the Australian government has formally registered "serious concerns" with their Qatari counterparts.
What are your thoughts on what happened to these women?
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Cover image sourced from AFP / Middle East Eye.
