Paola Schietekat: Woman faces 100 lashes and 7 years in Qatar jail for ACCUSING man of rape!
In June 2021, 27-year-old Paola Schietekat was in her apartment in Qatar when a co-worker broke into her room and raped her. As if that wasn't harrowing enough, Schietekat has since gone from being the accuser to being the accused and is facing a lengthy jail sentence in the Arab state. While the Mexican national has since left the nation, she cannot return to enjoy the very spectacle she helped plan - the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The oil-rich Arab state will become the first Gulf nation to host a FIFA World Cup, but much like China's 2022 Winter Olympics, Qatar is facing a massive battle to change its perception. In October 2020, more than a dozen women were strip-searched at Doha airport after officials found an abandoned newborn baby. Reportedly, hundreds of workers have also died while building the stadiums for the event, which the nation has covered up.
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Despite the backlash and pressure, the event is all set to go ahead between November and December 2022. Schietekat was just one of the thousands of people involved in planning the massive event and was employed as a member of the World Cup organizing committee. What should have been her dream job, quickly turned into a nightmare.
Who is Paola Schietekat?
The Mexican national is an economist and anthropologist, currently employed at Qatar's B4Development Foundation. The foundation is tasked with "designing and implementing behavioral experiments," reportedly in preparation for the World Cup. According to her LinkedIn profile, Schietekat has also worked with the Federal Congress in Mexico on gender equality and served as a political analyst for the Mexican embassy in Kuwait.
While working at B4Development, a close friend and colleague of Schietekat "got into to my apartment at night, while I was sleeping." Writing in Julio Astillero, she said she was overpowered and raped. Schietekat then went to the Mexican consulate to report the rape, who notified local police. Later that night, she was called to the police station. "It was three hours of interrogation in Arabic, and at a certain point, they demanded a virginity test. For some reason, I had become the accused," she wrote.
Reportedly, Schietekat's rapist claimed the two were in a relationship, which she denied. In the end, Schietekat was accused of having an extramarital affair with her attacker. "From one moment to another, my complaint no longer mattered," she said. She was facing charges for having an affair, a crime that carries a seven-year prison sentence and up to 100 lashes in Qatar.
With some help from her consulate, Schietekat was able to flee the Arab nation. She noted, "I had never breathed with more relief than when my passport was stamped." However, it is far from the end of her ordeal.
'A world that seems to hate women'
Schietekat's essay on the Spanish-language website doesn't just describe her ordeal in Qatar but asks a bigger question - are we really building a world that is equal for women? Titled 'Brain Drain | A world that seems to hate women', Schietekat writes, "I realize that there were two fundamental and systemic failures that led to this situation." She says they are "the cynical way in which the international community has excused and even defended archaic monarchies" and "the lack of a protection protocol for victims of violence with a gender perspective in the Mexican Foreign Service."
Schietekat not only slams Qatar but the world at large for seemingly supporting the nation's bid to host a World Cup despite its questionable human rights record. She also slams her own government, noting "no preparation of the Embassy to act in my defense." At the time of her ordeal, Schietekat was facing two damning choices - go to jail, or marry her rapist. It was only much later that she was given a third - flee the country. In contrast, her assailant faced no consequences.
Despite having fled Qatar, the nation will still try Schietekat in absentia on March 6. It means she won't be able to return to Qatar without risking jail, and won't get to see first-hand the result of years of work. As for Qatar, the story is likely to be swept under the rug as many others have in light of the upcoming World Cup.