A call to improve maternity leave for Qatar's working women

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Shaikha Al Mudahka

Adequate maternity leave is a pillar of women’s self-determination social efficacy and productivity. For women to be able to choose to take maternity leave to conduct effective early years parenting whilst also maintaining their role in working environments is imperative for women families and the wider community.

Indeed The International Labour Organization recommends that states should offer women at least 14 weeks maternity leave and The World Health Organization recommends that women breastfeed for the first 6 months of the child’s life. These ideals are not yet being offered to working women in Qatar in the normal state maternity package.

Qatar is by far the richest country in the world with a GDP in excess of $140 thousand dollars per capita and it should therefore be able to invest money in the early welfare of children. Due to the pace of change in the way of life of Qataris the maternity leave provision is still rather limited with a lot of room for improvement.

Women are at the moment only entitled to 15 days leave preceding the birth and a further 35 days subsequently. This can only be extended if there is a post pregnancy health problem and it is only available to women who have been with their employers for at least one year.

Qatar could learn from other countries even those in the Middle East who make greater efforts to keep their professional female employees in their jobs. Western Europe offers an average of 40 weeks maternity leave. Sweden is considered one of the most generous with women being able to enjoy up to 16 months on 80% pay. As one of the world’s most expansive economies Qatar is very well placed to offer women ample familial support which would be especially welcome to those whose husbands are on lower incomes.

Qatari consultant Dr Ahmad Al Hammadi - head of the General Paediatrics Section at Hamad Medical Corporation - has called for policy improvements. He has argued for an increase to at least 6 months paid maternity leave (but ideally a year) in order to give women more time to breastfeed making the case that breastfeeding improves the health of the baby and has a positive impact on the economy.

Ideally social support for maternity leave should in and of itself be considered important for women’s choice autonomy and their continued presence in the work place. However there are a great many added benefits to maternity leave that should be taken into consideration. Specifically in relation to the benefits of breastfeeding studies have suggested that children who are breastfed have a lower risk of infection asthma infant death and obesity in later life added to which there is some data that suggests that for the mothers themselves breastfeeding lowers the risk of cancers diabetes and heart disease.

A study conducted by Kings College London demonstrated the possibility that the more generous maternity leave was the greater the long term mental health benefits to the mothers. As researcher Avendano says “The very significant message of this paper is that there is a potential for maternity leave benefit programs to have a real long-term effect on the mental health of women and that the effects of maternity leave benefits are not only short-lived ... they are likely to extend for many decades.”

There is also a strong argument that women should be able to begin their leave from at least a month before the due date - not the 15 days allotted in Qatar - as it reduces the risk of women having to undergo a caesarean. Such operations are associated with medical complications and longer hospital stays for women; indeed a false form of economy. The scientific case has been well made; as Dr Al Hammadi suggested poor maternity leave provisions have a long term detrimental social and economic impact but if for no other reason the health and wellbeing of babies and mothers should be reason enough to extend its availability.

Around the world discomfort often occurs when discussing social changes that smack of women’s liberation or empowerment. There can be an anxiety that policies that benefit women and children will have a negative impact on men and society however time and time again research shows such anxieties to be without basis. Indeed providing maternity leave for women offers them the choice to take the time out to bond with their babies whilst feeling assured that their work place positions are secure. Having that choice has been overwhelmingly demonstrated to be of positive social benefit. Qatar has been polled as one of the better places in the region for women to live at 5th according to one study. Better maternity provisions could only add positively to this improving status.

Having children is not a luxury. Though individual women have a choice as to whether or not to become mothers overall child birth and effective early years care are imperative to societies in the long term. Added to which having women in the workplace is paramount to perpetuating a buoyant and creative economy.

We have to be flexible with women; give them the resources to be able to enjoy motherhood whilst also enjoying employment and careers. Having to choose to forego becoming a parent or leaving your job should not be a Sword of Damocles that hangs above your head. Going through pregnancy labour and being a carer of a child is hard but rewarding work and Qatari businesses and society should recognise the need to repay it with flexibility and understanding. It is the very least it can do.

The writer is the Marketing and Communication Manager for Al Rayyan Hospitality. She works full time for the company She is a wife and a mother to an adorable child named Rashid which recently turned one year old.