Condoms are easy to buy in Qatar, but the morning after pill is not.

In a country that restricts women’s rights over their own bodies, the morning after pill, although allowed, is not easily found in pharmacies in Qatar, host of the 2022 World Cup.

The report visited three pharmacies and a supermarket, in the capital Doha and in Al Khor. While male condoms are readily available, emergency contraception is not.

The pill was only found in a pharmacy in a shopping mall in the municipality of Al Khor. It cost about R$60 and no prescription was needed.

In the others, the attendants did not know whether the medicine was allowed in the country or if there was a supply forecast. It was also not found in the Talabat shopping app (similar to Rappi), which at the time of the query showed at least 45 drugstores open.

In addition, none of the establishments sold female condoms. The price of the men ranged from R$ 15 to R$ 130.

Qatar’s legislation is based on sharia, traditional Islamic law. Relationships outside of marriage are prohibited, and a couple who take the risk can be jailed for up to seven years.

Abortion is also illegal in the country and can lead to imprisonment. The discussion about the right to terminate one’s own pregnancy, present in countries like Brazil and the United States —more recently, with the reversal of the right in the country after the decision that overthrew Roe vs. Wade—is one of the main points of tension when it comes to women’s reproductive rights and their decision-making power over their own bodies.

Those who opt for an abortion without medical needs can face up to three years in prison, and those who provide them with the means to terminate their pregnancies face a sentence of up to seven years. If the person performing the procedure is from the field of medicine or pharmacy, the sentence can be up to ten years.

The Qatari regime requires native women to authorize men, their guardians, to access certain reproductive treatments.

The report “All I have to do is connected to a man”, by the NGO Human Rights Watch, reports on a woman who had to lie that she was married and give the name of a friend in order to have access to emergency treatment for endometriosis, a disease of the reproductive system that can reach severe levels, cause disabling pain and lead to infertility.

The document also indicates that women and girls who are unmarried but need medical evaluation or access to the contraceptive pill may need guardian authorization.

The WHO (World Health Organization) advises that sexual and reproductive health services, including information and contraceptive methods for adolescents, should be provided without the need for “authorization or mandatory notification from parents or guardians, in order to meet educational needs and services for teenagers”.

Men are still responsible for women’s decisions involving travel, work, education, marriage, also according to Human Rights Watch.

The father is primarily responsible and, in his absence, other family members such as brothers, uncles or grandfathers assume guardianship. After the marriage, the transfer is made to the husband and, in case of divorce, the custody reverts to close relatives.

The law requires women to apply to the court for separation, while men can unilaterally divorce. The system grants parents legal custody of their children even if the court has ordered them to stay with the mother.

The country has come under fire for the system, but it is seen as less prohibitive for women than other Islamic nations.

Pregnancy test

A chain pharmacy visited by the report in Doha sold simple pregnancy tests for BRL 131. Contraceptive pills cost between BRL 45 and BRL 74.

At a local drugstore, a pack of 12 condoms was around R$50. Lubricants were around R$40.

Condoms were also sold in supermarkets, where prices were lower. In them, a box with three condoms cost R$15.

All condoms found, however, were male. None of the places visited by the report sold female condoms.