Eman al-Hammadi was excited to start a family, but her three consecutive pregnancies ended in miscarriages. She attributes the tragedies to "al-ayn" — the evil eye — which is an Islamic belief that misfortune is transmitted from one person to another out of jealousy or envy. 

“Even though I [was not particularly superstitious], I slowly started believing in the evil eye after I had my second miscarriage,” Hammadi, a 24-year-old Qatari student, told Al-Monitor.

Many Qatari women ascribe miscarriages to supernatural forces such as jinns (evil spirits), the evil eye or simply the “will of God.” In 2017, 60 Qatari women, 20 pregnant and 40 who had miscarried in the last six months, and their families were interviewed on how they felt about the miscarriages in light of their religion and culture. The report was published by BMC Public Health, a research platform, and written by researchers from University College London, Hamad Medical Corporation and Weill Cornell Medical College Qatar.

The study showed that 85% of the participants had experienced between one and three miscarriages.