What is the point in having laws if they are not enforced?
Qatar is a very 'new' country in terms of progress. You don't go from being Bedouins and fisherman entrenched in Wahhabism to a modern, developed, socially progressive country overnight. Qatar only started to develop into a more modern culture 30 years ago, they are babies. The glitzy skyscrappers are very misleading. So much here is still ancient (everything in hard copy paper rather than done electronically, always standing in lines to get things done).
The infrastructure isn't there yet to enforce laws. The law makers are one small subset but for laws to be effective you need police systems, justice systems, civil process systems, legal systems etc that function and are in place and Qatar does not have that yet. One of the major issues is that 90+ percent of the population is expats - there are so many people from so many countries here. Language is a massive barrier. Although Qatari's speak Arabic, much of the workforce doesn't. English is the main language used in the professional workforce but at the domestic / migrant worker level, most don't speak English or Arabic and all work is done in their own native language. For example, in construction, most speak only Nepali or Bengali or an Indian dialect. They are recruited and brought to Qatar by companies and managers who speak their languages and who are ones mistreating them. There is a long chain of people between the migrant worker to the government with no clear communication channels or even shared language. So you have people at the top putting new laws in place but there just isn't a trickle down effect.
Have you actually spoken to any construction workers?
I haven't spoken to many as they don't speak English. I have interacted quite a bit with them as they are everywhere and I often would bring the ones who worked near me water and food in the summer months. However I have spoken to many, many Uber drivers and they have a pretty good handle as to what happens in many of the communities and trades. They also tell me all of their own stories.
Human right should not be something you 'get round to' they are fundamental.
I don't disagree however I think they saw health and education as being fundamental to human rights. And giving women more rights. Those 3 areas have been a focus. Without those in place, you aren't going to socially progress. There is only so much you can do in 30 years in a very small country, especially since the last 15 years have been dedicated to the World Cup.
There are major issues here. Don't get me wrong but the context isn't as people think. I am fortunate to work here in a capacity where I can impact on bettering human rights and on a personal level, I try to better individual people's days in practical ways (with money, water or food) that I interact with.