The women are seeking damages from both Qatar Airways and the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority — owned by the Qatari government — over the “unlawful physical contact” and damage to their mental health, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.The case has been filed just weeks before Qatar’s controversial hosting of the World Cup — a venue decision linked to massive bribes of soccer officials — amid concerns about treatment of female fans who may kiss or have sex with their boyfriends, drink alcohol and wear revealing clothing.The plaintiffs and several women on a Qatar Airways flight headed to Sydney — including citizens from Australia, New Zealand and Britain — were pulled off the aircraft and subjected to invasive gynecological exams in October 2020 after an abandoned newborn was discovered in an airport bathroom.The women were taken to ambulances on the tarmac, some at gunpoint, the lawsuit stated, locked inside and told to remove their underwear for an examination, the BBC reported at the time.Australia filed an official complaint after the nation’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison blasted the “appalling” searches, and Foreign Minister Marise Payne called the measures “grossly disturbing [and] offensive.”Attorney Damian Sturzaker, partner at the Marque Lawyers firm, which is representing the women who are suing, told the Guardian this week he was “proud to stand with this group of brave women who have been forced to take on the Qatar government after it gravely breached their human rights.”As of Saturday night, the Qatar government hadn’t yet responded to the suit."