Mexican who denounced sexual abuse in Qatar does not rule out returning

Paola Schietekat is a young Mexican sentenced to 100 lashes and seven years in prison in Qatar, after denouncing sexual abuse in that country.

The young woman arrived in that country in 2021 to work as part of the Supreme Committee of Delivery and Legacy, a Qatari body that oversees the organization of the 2022 World Cup.

The attack against Paola occurred on June 6 and, on the 25th of the same month, she left Qatar for Mexico because, after denouncing her situation, she became the defendant.

After the case of this young woman was recently made public, last Friday the Mexican Foreign Ministry announced that her “best lawyer will take charge of defending her and that all her rights as a Mexican citizen will be respected.”

Schietekat is grateful for the support, especially because, despite the terrible episode she experienced in Qatar, he longs to return to the life he had formed before that. She is excited to return to her office, talk with her colleagues and thank her boss, whom she assures has been very empathetic with her.

“I want to focus on the fact that I could come back, make a clean slate, I know that I am not going to get justice for the aggression, especially if the aggressor is no longer in Qatar. It is very difficult for that to happen, but being able to recover that life I think is something I deserve, ”says the Mexican, who also practices the Muslim religion, to the website Halftime.

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For this young woman, the job opportunity she got in Qatar was unique and fully met her expectations. “Suddenly, I get this job that is behavioral economics, in the preparations for the World Cup, at Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, in an Arab country, me speaking Arabic, I having lived much of my life in the Middle East. I said this can’t be happening!”he claimed.

He is currently awaiting the hearing on March 6, as a next step in the litigation, for which he will have legal representation, as promised by the Mexican Foreign Ministry.

What happened to Paola happened on June 6?

The Mexican has announced that on June 6, 2021, a man of Colombian origin, whom the young woman had met in the social network groups of the Latin community in Qatar, He entered her home and sexually abused her.

“After a brief struggle, as his strength exceeded mine, I ended up on the floor. Hours later, bruises appeared all over my left arm, shoulder, and back. I kept a cool head, I told my mom, a colleague from work and documented everything with photos, so that my memory, in an attempt at self-protection, would not minimize the events or completely erase part of them”, detailed the young woman in an article published on the page of the Mexican journalist Julio Astillero.

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After presenting the respective complaint, the Police contacted her to indicate that the man she points out for having abused her He had said they were boyfriends.

At that time the situation was even more complicated for Paola, because according to the Zina Law (Islamic jurisprudence), extramarital relationships are punished (provides sentences of up to 10 years in prison and lashes to people who have sexual relations without being married). In this new scenario the interrogation lasted more than three hours.

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“It was extremely violent, revictimizing, invasive, invalidating. I was exhausted. I remember that she showed the marks to the police who were questioning me in search of empathy. And she was asking him why do they hate women?” she pointed out.

Given this, Paola returned to Mexico, however, his case is still in process. However, she would like to get her dream job back, because she loves soccer and due to an accident she cannot practice it anymore. (I)