The Qatari government has apologized after the Australian government expressed frustration over the inspection of female passengers.
Two days ago, the Australian government declared the incident unacceptable and called it a mockery of women.
According to the Associated Press (AP), a spokesman for the Qatari government apologized in a statement issued on October 28 for forcing female passengers off the plane to undergo a "maternity check-up".
A statement issued by the Qatari government also said that the matter would be brought to light in a transparent manner through a high-level investigation.
According to the Qatari government, the operation took place when airport officials found a newborn baby in a plastic bag in a trash can near the airline bound for Australia.
The statement said it was against the law for a newborn baby to be found in the dustbin, adding that staff had tried to find the woman who gave birth to the baby on the instructions of medical experts.
Although the Qatari government apologized for the incident, it did not specify how the women were given a "maternity check-up" at the airport.
The matter came to light a few days ago when the Australian broadcaster Seven News reported that the women were unloaded from a plane coming from Doha to Sydney on October 2 and were examined.
The report said that 13 Australian female passengers were offloaded from Qatar Airways flight QR908 and underwent a "maternity check" and all the women were examined in an ambulance parked nearby.
According to the Australian agency, all the women traveling on the plane were frightened after the incident and no information was provided to them before they were examined.
The Australian Foreign Ministry also expressed outrage and anger over the incident, calling it "regrettable and horrific".
Women's rights groups in Australia have called the incident a sexual assault after reports of a "maternity examination" of women surfaced.
However, according to Qatari officials, the women were informed before they were examined, but now the Qatari government has apologized for the matter and announced a full investigation.
The incident is the first and unique of its kind, but newborns in Qatar have met in different places before.
In Qatar, giving birth to children out of wedlock is a crime and religiously forbidden, but foreign women working there have been repeatedly involved in aborting newborns.
It is believed that a newborn baby was found at the airport after a foreign woman gave birth, but officials have apologized for saying nothing and said a full investigation was under way. It is too early to say anything.
