1

KUWAIT

1. Discriminatory family code

Under the Personal Status Act (1984), the legal age of marriage in Kuwait is 15 years for women and 17

years for men.1 However, according to the U.S. Department of State, girls continue to marry below the

legal age in some tribal groups,2 and Kuwaiti Government data show that the bride was under the age of

15 in the case of 51 marriage contracts concluded in 2011. In terms of early marriage, the figures

indicate that 55 of girls ages 15-19 were married, divorced or widowed.3

Kuwaiti women face discrimination in regard to parental authority. Sharia law views fathers as the

natural guardians of children, whereas mothers are seen as the physical, but not legal, custodians.4 This

conception of guardianship is codified under Articles 110 of the Civil Code and 209 of the Personal

Status Act, under which mothers can serve as legal guardians only when authorized through a court

decision. Thus, mothers continue to be prevented from taking decisions and representing their children

before official bodies, in particular in regard to registering their children in schools.5

In the event of divorce, Article 189 of the Personal Status Act gives mothers the right to physical custody

of young children.6 Under Sunni family law, mothers are given custody of sons until they reach the age

of 15 years and of daughters until they marry.7 But under Shiite family law, women are only granted

custody of girls up until the age of seven, and boys to the age of two.8 Under Article 199, a father is

legally obliged to provide financial support to a mother with custody of his child until the boy concerned

reaches the age of seven or the girl concerned reaches the age of nine,9 but there are no penalties in

place in the event that he fails to do so.10 Divorced women who choose to remarry during this period

lose their custody rights.11 In addition, fathers gain custody of children of non-Muslim women who

choose not to convert.12

Inheritance is governed by the Personal Status Act. Articles 299 and 300 do not provide for equal

inheritance shares for sons compared to daughters and wives compared to husbands.13 Sharia law

1 ECOSOC (2003) p. 147; CEDAW (2010) p. 28

2 U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 21

3 OECD (2014), Gender, Institutions and Development Database, http://stats.oecd.org

4 Uhlman (2004)

5 CEDAW (2011) p. 12; Kuwait Society for Human Rights (2011) p. 8

6 Personal Status Act (Law no. 51/1984), Article 189; CEDAW (2010) p. 28

7 Al-Mughni (2010) p. 231

8 Al-Mughni (2010) p. 231

9 Personal Status Act (Law no. 51/1984), Article 199; CEDAW (2003) p. 81

10 Al-Mughni (2010) p. 243

11 Al-Mughni (2010) p. 231

12 U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 19

13 Personal Status Act (Law no. 51/1984), Articles 299 & 300

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provides for detailed and complex calculations of these shares.14 Women may inherit from their fathers,

mothers, husbands or children and, under certain conditions, from other family members.15 However,

their share is generally smaller than that to which men are entitled, and in general, female heirs are

entitled to inherit half that of male heirs. 16 Under Sunni family law, women are able to inherit physical

property, whereas under Shiite family law, women can only inherit the value of that property.17

However, in general, Shia inheritance regulations in Kuwait are said to be more egalitarian to women

compared to Sunni regulations.18 It is not clear whether women’s inheritance rights are respected in

practice. A non-Muslim woman who chooses not to convert cannot inherit her husband’s property

unless specified as a beneficiary in his will.19

More

Under the Personal Status Act (1984), family matters are governed by Sharia law and handled within the

state-run Sharia court system in which the testimony of a man equals that of two women.20 Sunni and

Shiite Muslims have recourse to courts that adhere to their respective schools of Islam.21 For the most

part, marriage continues to be an arrangement between families, although marriages cannot be

concluded without the consent of both spouses.22 According to Sunni family law, women cannot freely

choose their husbands; they must obtain prior approval from their families or guardians.23 This is not the

case for Shiite women, who can marry without their guardian’s consent once they have reached the age

of maturity (25).24 The law forbids marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men.25 Sexual

relations outside of marriage are illegal for women and men.26

Men have the right to repudiate their wives, i.e. divorce them unilaterally.27 Women in Kuwait have the

right to seek a divorce under certain circumstances, e.g. if the husband has been imprisoned or has

deserted her (Article 136 of the Personal Status Act), or if she has been so injured by her husband’s

words or deeds “as to be unable to continue associating among their mutual peers” (Article 126 of the

Personal Status Act).28 In the latter case (domestic violence), reportedly, a woman must prove the injury

before a court with witnesses.29 In cases where a husband has divorced his wife unilaterally, she is

entitled to financial compensation.30 Moreover, the Sharia practice of khula is practiced in Kuwait,

according to which a woman can divorce her husband relatively quickly by relinquishing to her

14

UN-HABITAT (2005) p. 11 15

UN-HABITAT (2005) p. 11 16

UN-HABITAT (2005) p. 11; Al-Mughni (2010) p. 234 17

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 230 18

Krause (2009) p. 12 19

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 19 20

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 227; CEDAW (2010) p. 27; U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 19 21

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 227 22

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 232; CEDAW (2010) p. 27 23

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 232 24

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 232 25

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 6 26

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 228 27

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 231 28

CEDAW (2010) p. 28; CEDAW (2003) p. 21-22; Al-Mughni (2010) p. 231-232 29

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 18 30

CEDAW (2010) p.28; Al-Mughni (2010) pp. 231-232

3

husband’s assets.31 In Kuwait, which has the highest total divorce rate among the countries of the Gulf

Cooperation Council, divorce and remarriage have become easier and carry less of a social stigma than

in past decades.32

2. Restricted physical integrity

Article 88 of the Personal Status Act (1984) states that a wife may not be coerced into obedience, but

the law does not explicitly prohibit domestic violence.33 In practice, general laws against assault have

been applied to domestic violence cases; however, those convicted of spousal abuse reportedly tend

not to face severe penalties. A victim of domestic violence may file a complaint with police, but in

practice, perpetrators are rarely arrested, and the crime is treated as more of a social rather than a

criminal problem. The U.S. Department of State noted police inaction and discrimination against non-

citizen women who reported domestic violence, as well as bribes paid by men to authorities to avoid

arrest.34 The police and courts generally try to resolve family disputes informally, and no shelters,

hotlines, or other support services are available to victims.35 The only women’s shelter in Kuwait is for

domestic workers, not for victims of intimate partner violence.36 In addition, Human Rights Watch

reported in 2012 that in cases of alleged domestic violence or marital rape, under Kuwaiti regulations,

courts provide lawyers to the accused but not to the victims.37

Another possibility for married victims of domestic violence is to seek divorce. A woman may petition

for divorce based on injury from abuse under Article 126 of the Personal Status Act, but the law does

not provide a clear legal standard on what constitutes injury.38 Moreover, a woman must prove the

abuse before a court with witnesses.39

Lack of data makes it difficult to estimate the prevalence of violence against women in Kuwait: no

statistics are collected either by the government or NGOs, and few women report cases of domestic

violence out of fear or shame.40

Rape is a criminal offence in Kuwait under Article 186 of the Penal Code,41 but spousal rape is not

recognised.42 In addition, perpetrators can escape prosecution by marrying their victim.43 Rape is

punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty, which has been applied to rape convicts on

occasion.44 Under Article 187 of the Penal Code, sexual relations with a female who is under 15 years of

age or unable to exercise her willpower for any other reason is punishable by life imprisonment, even if

31

US State Department (2014) 32

Westall (2012) 33

CEDAW (2003) p. 21 34

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 18 35

ECOSOC (2003) p. 147; Al-Mughni (2010) p. 233 36

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 18; Kuwait Society for Human Rights (2011) p. 2 37

Human Rights Watch (2012a) 38

Personal Status Act (Law no. 51/1984), Article 126 39

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 18 40

Al-Mughni (2010) p.233 41

CEDAW (2003) p. 25-26; Penal Code (Law no. 16/1960) 42

ECOSOC (2003) p. 146-7 43

Selfscholar (2012) 44

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 17; Daily News Egypt (2013)

4

no coercion, threats, or deception were used. The penalty is death if the perpetrator was an ascendant

of the victim, entrusted with guardianship over her, or a servant in her household.45

Non-citizen women, especially domestic workers, are reportedly particularly vulnerable to sexual assault

in Kuwait, including by their employers.46 Those who fall pregnant due to rape have been imprisoned for

sexual relations outside of wedlock.47 According to the U.S. Department of State, while rape convicts

have sometimes faced severe penalties, overall, rape laws are not effectively enforced, especially in

cases of non-citizen women raped by their employers.48 There have also been reports of sexual assault

by police officers, usually against non-national women.49 According to a 2012 report by Human Rights

Watch, transgender women—those who are born male but identify as female—have also faced

persistent police abuse, sometimes sexual in nature. The police may arrest and detain them under a

2007 law against “imitating the opposite sex.”50

Sexual harassment in the workplace is not recognised as a specific crime, even though it has been

characterized by human rights groups as a widespread and underreported problem, and is of particular

concern with regards to domestic workers.51 However, the “encroachment on honour,” encompassing a

broad array of forms of sexual harassment and acts against women, is punishable with fines and prison

sentences—which have been applied in practice. Reportedly, female police officers have been deployed

to shopping malls and other public spaces to combat sexual harassment.52

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is reportedly not practised in Kuwait. The legal situation in regard to

FGM is unclear.

More

Trafficking in persons is illegal in Kuwait, under the Penal Code and a new anti-trafficking law passed in

March 2013.53 However, Kuwait was, for the seventh year in a row designated in the worst level (“Tier

Three”) in the U.S. State Department’s 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report for failing to demonstrate

significant effort in prosecuting and convicting trafficking offenders under existing laws.54 Labour

trafficking is a problem with regards to domestic workers (mainly women), a large number of who enter

the country each year legally, but may subsequently be subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude

by their employers.55 They are at particular risk of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of their

employees, and are not protected by employment legislation.56 In addition, the Kuwaiti government has

thus far appeared reluctant to prosecute Kuwaiti citizens found to have abused their domestic

45

CEDAW (2003) p. 25-26 46

Freedom House (2013); U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 17-18 47

International Human Rights Clinic (2013) p. 34 48

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 17-18 49

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 3 50

Human Rights Watch (2012b) 51

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 237; U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 19 52

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 19 53

ECOSOC (2003) p. 146; U.S. Department of State (2013b) 54

U.S. Department of State (2013b) 55

Fahim (2010); Human Rights Watch (2011); U.S. Department of State (2013b); International Human Rights Clinic (2013) p. 30-36 56

Amnesty International (2010) p. 202; ECOSOC (2003) p. 147; Human Rights Watch (2011); International Human Rights Clinic (2013) p. 30-36

5

workers.57 The Kuwait Union of Domestic Labour Offices provides some limited services to domestic

workers, including legal support, and there is also a shelter in operation.58 However, it is far more

common for those who flee employers to seek shelter in their respective embassies, especially because

many are unaware about the existence of the state shelter.59 Although prostitution is criminalised, there

are limited reports of forced prostitution in Kuwait, particularly for the case of runaway domestics who

fall prey to criminals who exploit their illegal status.60

Incidents of so-called “honour killings” do occur in Kuwait.61 Under Article 153 of the Penal Code,

honour killing is criminalised, but with significantly lower penalties than would otherwise be the case for

murder. If the (male) perpetrator kills his daughter, wife, sister or mother in a fit of rage, having

discovered that she had committed an act of zina (unlawful sexual relations), the maximum penalty is

three years’ imprisonment or a fine. 62 By contrast, murder is otherwise punishable by the death penalty

or life imprisonment.63

Under Law No. 25 of 1981, abortion is only legal within the first four months of pregnancy in cases of

foetal impairment or if the mother’s life or health is in danger.64 In all cases, the procedure requires the

consent of the woman’s husband or male guardian, as well as the approval of a medical committee

composed of three specialists, and must be performed in a state hospital.65 Under Article 159 of the

Penal Code, a woman may be punished for having an illegal abortion with up to five years’ imprisonment

and/or a fine.66 Article 174 stipulates that a person who induces an illegal abortion—either with or

without the pregnant women’s consent—is liable to a prison sentence of up to ten years or, in the case

of a medical practitioner, up to 15 years, to which a fine may be added. Exceptions are made for those

who induce an abortion in the sincere belief that it is essential to preserve the life of the pregnant

woman.67

Women in Kuwait have the right to obtain information about, and access contraception, which is

provided through government health clinics.68 The Government of Kuwait, which provides incentives for

childbearing among Kuwaiti nationals,69 does not provide family planning programmes, but

contraceptives are available without prescription.70 According to a 2010 UNFPA report, 52% of married

women reported using some form of contraception.71

57

U.S. Department of State (2013b) 58

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 233 59

Fahim (2010); U.S. Department of State (2013b) 60

U.S. Department of State (2013b) 61

ECOSOC (2003) p. 147; Al-Mughni (2010) p. 227; U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 18 62

ECOSOC (2003) p. 147; Al-Mughni (2010) p. 227; Penal Code, Article 153 63

Penal Code (Law no. 16/1960), Article 149 64

UNDP (2007); UN (n.d.) p. 91 65

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 242 66

CEDAW (2003) p. 63 67

CEDAW (2003) p. 64 68

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 241 69

UN (n.d.) p. 91 70

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 19 71

UNFPA (2010) p. 96

6

3. Son bias

The male/female sex ratio at birth is 1.05 while for the working age population of 15-64 is 1.06.72 Based

on this evidence, it appears that Kuwait is a country of low concern in relation to missing women and

the situation is improving.

More

UNICEF offers data from 2008 to 2012 on education. There is a slight gender gap in pre-primary

education in the detriment of males. A bigger gender gap, also in detriment of boys, is documented in

primary education. The gap continues to grow in secondary education.73

Immunization data provided by UNICEF and the World Bank’s Development Indicators Database is not

disaggregated by sex.74

Malnutrition appears to have affected girls and boys equally, based on 2012 data.75

No information was available about the manner in which household chores are divided between girls

and boys.76 UNICEF offers no information on child labour or birth registration.77

4. Restricted resources and assets

Women in Kuwait have the full legal right to own and manage land under the Civil Code, which does not

discriminate by sex with regards to a person’s legal capacity to own property and carry out commercial

transactions.78 No data was found regarding women’s access to and ownership of land.

Women have the full legal right to own and manage non-land assets including property, income, and

other assets.79 A 2011 law decreed that Kuwaiti women who are divorced, widowed, married to

noncitizens, or over the age of 40 and single are now entitled to the same interest free housing loans

that had previously only been accessible to Kuwaiti men.80 Still, usually only heads of households are

eligible for government welfare benefits. In Kuwait, only widows or divorcees can be defined as heads of

household, excluding, for example, women married to unemployed men.81

The law allows women over 21 years of age to have access to financial services, including bank loans

and enter into financial contracts, without permission from their male guardian.82 A wife’s financial

assets remain separate from those of her husband after marriage.83 92.7% men compared to 79.6% of

women hold a bank account at a formal financial institution.84

72

CIA (n.d.) 73

UNICEF (2013) 74

UNICEF (2013); World Bank (n.d.) Development Indicators Database 75

World Bank (n.d.) Development Indicators Database 76

Understanding Children’s Work (n.d.) 77

UNICEF (2013) 78

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 234; CEDAW (2010) p. 27; CEDAW (2003) p. 78 79

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 234; CEDAW (2010) p. 27; CEDAW (2003) p. 78 80

World Bank (2013) p. 79 81

World Bank (2013) p. 80 82

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 234; CEDAW (2003) p. 80 83

CEDAW (2003) p. 80 84

World Bank (2011)

7

The UNDP Kuwait office reports that, despite women previously being concentrated in the public sector,

there are now a growing number of women entrepreneurs who are transforming the image of Kuwaiti

women into that of successful entrepreneurs.85

5. Restricted civil liberties

There are no legal restrictions on women’s freedom of access to public space in Kuwait.86 In October

2009, the Constitutional Court ruled that the 1962 law requiring married women to obtain their

husband’s permission in order to apply for a passport was unconstitutional.87 However, reportedly a

husband may still obtain a court-ordered travel ban on his wife to prevent her from leaving the

country,88 and social norms dictate that women obtain permission from their family or husband before

going out at night or travelling abroad.89 It is also considered socially unacceptable for an unmarried

woman (or an unmarried man) to live alone.90

Non-national women are often subject to arbitrary arrest and deportation, 91 and female domestics are

reportedly often prevented from socialising with friends or leaving their workplace.92 Segregation by

gender is mandated in secondary and tertiary education, but public universities enforced this law more

rigorously than private ones.93 Married female students may only register in evening schools and have

been prevented from attending day schools by regulations of the Ministry of Education.94

There are reports that freedom of expression is at times not respected in Kuwait, and there are also

some restrictions in place on freedom of association and assembly.95 This limits the autonomy and

activities of NGOs, including those working on women’s rights, which face considerable logistical

obstacles to registration, as well as scrutiny of their operations.96 That said, Kuwaiti women’s long

exclusion from formal political life, the country has had an active women’s movement, campaigning for

women’s economic and political rights, and their access to educational and cultural opportunities.97

Women’s rights activists were able to mount large-scale demonstrations in 2005 in support of women’s

voting rights.98 Two months following these protests, the parliament agreed to reform the electoral law

in order to grant women the vote.99

Two women’s rights organisations—the Kuwait Federation of Women’s Association and the Women’s

Cultural and Social Society—are accredited with the Government as representatives of Kuwaiti women

85

UNDP Kuwait (2010) 86

Al-Mughni (2010) p.229 87

Amnesty International (2010) p.202; World Bank (2013) p. 87 88

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 20 89

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 230 90

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 242 91

Al-Sabah (2013) p. 85 92

Fahim (2010); Human Rights Watch (2011) p. 55-6 93

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 20 94

Kuwait Society for Human Rights (2011) p. 10 95

Amnesty International (2010) pp. 201-202; Freedom House (2013) 96

Al-Mughni (2010) pp. 225, 240 97

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 223 98

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 238 99

Krause (2009) p. 10

8

and permitted to hold events that continue to advocate against the political exclusion of women.100

According to a 2009 report, the Federation is tightly regulated by the Government and is the only group

permitted to represent Kuwaiti women internationally.101 Reports suggest there has been in-fighting

between women’s groups, as some elite women have sought to side-line the work and formation of

broader-based women’s organisations.102

There are no quotas for women in political office. Women gained the right to vote and stand for election

in Kuwait in 2005.103 Since then, women voters have sometimes turned out to vote at higher rates than

their male counterparts.104 However, they failed to win seats in the 2006 and 2008 elections. It was only

in 2009 that the first women—four out of the 20 women who ran for office—were elected to the 50-

member National Assembly.105 In the February, 2012 elections, tribal leaders excluded women from

tribal primaries, and no women were elected to the Assembly.106 However, three women won seats in

the December 2012 elections.107 In the most recent elections of July 2013, there were eight female

compared to 321 male candidates, and two women were elected, amounting to a parliamentary share

of 4%. Some opposition figures boycotted the election; still, many participated. Since cabinet members,

who are appointed by the Emir, also enjoy voting rights in Kuwait’s national legislature, if one considers

the two female ministers, women then comprise four of 65-members of the national legislature,

amounting to a share of 6.2%.108

The first women serving in ministerial positions in Kuwait were appointed in 2005. Kuwait has had

several female ambassadors.109 In 2011, a judge of the Supreme Court clarified that women may be

appointed as judges and public prosecutors, overturning a 2010 ruling by a lower court against this

possibility.110 But, as of 2012, there were no women judges.111 In January 2013, for the first time, Kuwait

began accepting female applicants to become public prosecutors. However, the Government delayed

the appointment of 62 prosecutors, including 22 females, reportedly because it sought religious fatwas

permitting women to work in this field.112

More

Under the 2010 Labour Act, women in Kuwait are protected from employment discrimination on the

basis of gender, including with regards to pay under Article 26.113 Still, according to the World Economic

100

Rousseau (2013) 101

Krause (2009) p. 16 102

Al-Sabah (2013) p. 220; Krause (2009) p. 19-20 103

UNICEF (2007) p. 78; CEDAW (2010) pp. 16, 19 104

Rousseau (2013); U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 15 105

Amnesty International (2010) p.201; Al-Mughni (2010) p. 224 106

BBC (2012); U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 15 107

Rousseau (2013); U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 15; Freedom House (2013) 108

Inter-Parliamentary Union (2013) 109

Krause (2009) p. 10 110

World Bank (2013) p. 86 111

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 5 112

Al-Fuzai (2013) 113

ILO (2009); CEDAW (2010) p. 15; Labour Law No. 6/2010

9

Forum (WEF), women earn 66% of the pay for equal work in Kuwait.114 Moreover, a husband can

prohibit his wife from working if he deems that work would negatively affect the family’s interests.115

According to the 2011 NGO Shadow Report to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) by the Kuwait Society for Human Rights, the Government,

including in its official reports and school curricula, continues to extol the role of women as wives and

mothers, rather than as equal participants in the public sector.116 With the exception of a few

professions, women are legally forbidden from working at night, as well as from working in the industrial

sector, or working in occupations deemed hazardous to their health.117 However, they have been able to

serve in the army since 1999 and in the police force since 2009.118

Pregnant women in Kuwait are entitled to 100% pay for 70 days of maternity leave, paid by the

employer, under Article 24 of the 2010 Labour Act. The law provides that they must be given an

equivalent position when they return from maternity leave. Nursing women are given two hours break

time during official working hours under Article 25.119

The labour force participation rate in 2011 was 44.2% for citizen women and 71.6% for non-national

women, compared to 63.1% for citizen men and 95.5% for non-national men.120 Women (both national

and non-national) comprised 14.5% of legislators, senior officials, and managers in 2011.121 The growth

of women’s participation in the labour market in Kuwait reportedly resulted from the occupation of the

country by Iraq in 1990-1991, when thousands of Kuwaiti women took on important responsibilities:

running hospitals to compensate for the lack of trained medical staff, or risking their lives by engaging in

smuggling food, money, and weapons across military Iraqi checkpoints.122

Slightly more than half of public-sector employees are female,123 but only 40 of 518 executive posts

were occupied by women in 2012.124 Moreover, according to the World Bank, the state provides public

sector employees with “extremely generous” family subsidies, but only to husbands. Women are

excluded from these subsidies even if only the wife works in the public sector.125

As for education, while 72% of college graduates in Kuwait were female in 2012,126 educated women

have claimed that the conservative nature of society restricts their career opportunities, although they

have seen limited improvements.127 Moreover, according to the World Bank, the reverse gender gap in

education may be explained in part by gender gaps in wages, the provision of state subsidies, and the

age of retirement (earlier for women than men). These increase the premium of higher education for

114

World Economic Forum (2013) p. 246 115

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 230 116

Kuwait Society for Human Rights (2011) p. 6-7 117

ECOSOC (2003) p. 147; Al-Mughni (2010) p. 236 118

Sharaf (n.d.); Arabic News.com (1999) 119

Labour Law No. 6/2010 120

Calculated based on data from Central Statistical Bureau (2011b) p. 97 121

Calculated based on data from Central Statistical Bureau (2011b) p. 102 122

Rousseau (2013) 123

Central Statistical Bureau (2013) p. 13 124

Central Statistical Bureau (2013) p. 23 125

Wolrd Bank (2013) p. 80, 102 126

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 20 127

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 20

10

women compared to men. Young men have an incentive to enter the system with secondary or

vocational qualifications only and rely on seniority for growth in pay over time; whereas the usual

gender gap in pay and subsidies deters women without tertiary degrees from starting at low-paid, entry-

level jobs, especially as they might be expected to retire before reaching more senior-level posts.128

According to Al-Mughni, women’s rights issues are discussed in the media in Kuwait, with a wide range

of liberal and conservative views represented.129 However, according to the U.S. Department of State,

discussions of the role of women in society and sexual problems are sometimes self-censored by the

media.130 In October 2012, the Ministry of Information filed a lawsuit against talk show host Yusra

Mohammed, whose show addresses the problems of violence against women in Arab societies, sex

tourism, and prostitution rings. The Ministry called an episode on child prostitution “an affront to

decency.”131 Mohammed was acquitted by the Court of First Instance.132

Children derive citizenship solely from the father. Women may only confer citizenship to children born

to non-Kuwaiti fathers in limited circumstances, for example, if the father is unknown.133 Those who are

divorced or widowed from a non-national man may petition for Kuwaiti citizenship to be conferred on

their children.134

128

World Bank (2013) p. 102-3 129

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 239 130

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 7 131

Abdullah (2012) 132

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 8 133

Al-Mughni (2010) p. 226; CEDAW (2010) p. 20 134

U.S. Department of State (2013) p. 13, 20

11

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Al-Fuzai, M. (2013), “A big ‘no’ for female prosecutors,” Kuwait Times, http://news.kuwaittimes.net/a-

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