Kuwait

Women in Kuwait

Kuwait is highly traditional in its approach to women but the Kuwait-Iraq conflict helped open some doors for women. Kuwaiti women finally won the right to vote in 2005, and four women were elected to the National Assembly in 2009. These gains were tempered by the insistence of Islamic legislators that a clause be added to the suffrage language, requiring women to abide by Islamic law.

Social indicators reveal that the median age for females is 22.7 years. Kuwait has an infant mortality rate of 8.97 deaths per 1,000 live births, and the country ranks 160th in the world in this area. The life expectancy of females is 78.96 years compared to 76.51 years for males. The fertility rate is 2.76 children per woman. Female literacy has been on the upswing in recent decades, rising from 59 percent in 1991 to 91 percent in 2005. Both males and females generally have at least 12 years of school, but females now outnumber males in higher education. However, wages for females lag far behind those of males. In 2005, for [Page 819]instance, the estimated earned income for females was $12,623 as compared to $36,403 for males.

Violence and Women's Rights

Foreign-born women who live in Kuwait are particularly vulnerable to violence, and a number of Filipino maids have been raped and/or physically abused. Although many victims are afraid to come forward, some who do have been able to obtain justice. The Filipino, Indian and Sri Lankan embassies have frequently provided shelter to victims of domestic abuse from their individual countries. Wives, particularly those who are foreign born, also are frequently the victims of domestic abuse. Reports on such cases suggest that violence occurs in 15 percent of Kuwaiti marriages, and 60 percent of those involve wives who are not Kuwaiti citizens.

Despite important gains in women's rights, Kuwait continues to restrict women's lives in a number of ways. Wives are required to obey their husbands, and they need their husbands’ permission to obtain passports. Citizenship is passed to children through the father, and women's testimony is not given equal weight in courts. Inheritance laws are based on Islamic law, often limiting women's property rights. Although 28 percent of women of working age are employed, employment opportunities are restricted, and women are banned from occupations that are considered dangerous or unhealthy. Women are forbidden to marry non-Islamic men, and women who marry foreigners are required to pay residence fees for them. Polygamy continues to flourish, but males are required to notify their first wives and provide them with separate residences at the first wife's request.

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