The women of

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

have experienced many progressive changes since the early 20th century. Since then, women have had increased access to education, gained political and economic rights, and financial power. They can serve in the police, military, and as judges in courts. However, women in Kuwait struggle against a

patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of Dominance hierarchy, dominance and Social privilege, privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical Anthropology, anthropological term for families or clans controll ...

culture which discriminates against them in several fields. Kuwait's Bedoon (stateless) women are at risk of significant human rights abuses and persecution, Kuwait has the largest number of Bedoon in the entire region.

History

Pre-oil Kuwait

From the 17th century until the discovery of oil in the late 1940s, the

economy of Kuwait The economy of Kuwait is a wealthy petroleum-based economy. Kuwait is one of the richest countries in the world.harem where women spent most of their time. This structure, along with high windows and doors that faced into the house rather than the street, removed women from public vision. Upper-class women’s participation in the public sphere was very limited. However, lower-class women had a much less secluded experience; they went to the

suq A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, such as in the W ...

on a daily basis, fetched drinking water, and regularly washed their families’ clothes on the beach. Kuwaiti girls began learning scripture in 1916 when the first Quran school was established. After this many women of modest means began working as Islamic instructors. The first private school opened in 1926; it taught reading, writing, and embroidery. Public schooling began in 1937 though enrollment in it was low for some time; however, by the 1940s many young Kuwaiti women were enrolled in primary school. It was often women themselves who pushed for these educational advances and opportunities and in 1956 a group of young women burned their abaya to protest their right to go abroad to study.

Political activism and emancipation

Women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

activism began in Kuwait in the 1950s with the establishment of many women's groups (''lijân nisâ’iah''). Noureya Al-Saddani established the first of these groups, the Arab Women's Renaissance Association (later, Family Renaissance Association), in 1962. The Women's Cultural and Social Society followed a year later in February 1963. In 1975, The Girls Club (''Nadi Alfatat'') was established, advocating for

women's sports The participation of women and girls in sports, physical Physical fitness, fitness and exercise, has been recorded to have existed throughout history. However, participation rates and activities vary in accordance with nation, era, geography, ...

. In 1971, Al-Saddani as head of the Arab Women's Development Society, began a national campaign for

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

. Her initial proposal was rejected by the National Assembly. During the liberal Arab nationalist era in the 1950s, women's liberation and unveiling were seen by Kuwaiti liberals as a natural part of the progress of a new independent nation; feminists like Fatima Hussain burned their veils and in the 1960s and 1970s, unveiled women were the norm. This development turned around due to a growing Islamization in Kuwaiti life, which were to make veiling the norm again in the 1990s. In 1978, the

Government of Kuwait Kuwait is an emirate with a political system consisting of an appointed judiciary, appointed government (dominated by the Al Sabah ruling family), and nominally elected parliament. Executive branch The Constitution of Kuwait was approved and p ...

announced official

Islamization Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...

policies and laws. Islamist women were very influential during this period, especially in public, as burqa adoption was a very visible symbol of the Islamist movement. In 1981, Bayader As-Salam, a religious group focusing on cultural awareness, formed. The same year

Sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

a Latifa Al-Sabah, then-wife of Emir

Saad Al-Salim Al-Sabah Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah ( ar, سعد العبد الله السالم الصباح, translit=Saʿad al-ʿAbdullāh as-Sālim as-Sabāh) (1930 – 13 May 2008) was the Emir of Kuwait and Commander of the Kuwait Military Forces d ...

, established the Islamic Care Association, seeking to spread Islam along with the associated lifestyle and conduct of Muslim life. During the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

in Kuwait from 1990 to 1991, women played a significant part of resisting the Iraqi invasion, occupation, and supporting the offensive which liberated Kuwait from Iraqi control. This period of conflict also

solidified Freezing is a phase transition where a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. In accordance with the internationally established definition, freezing means the solidification phase change of a liquid o ...

Kuwaiti women from different backgrounds and raised their political awareness. After the war, demonstrations and protests for women's rights continued throughout the decade. A shift began, as more political figures supported the Kuwaiti women's rights proposals, most notably Emir Al-Sabah, whom in May 1999 attempted to institute women's suffrage by decree during a period of parliamentary dissolution, however this decree was reversed by the newly-elected National Assembly in November 1999. Protests and activism continued and escalated into the 2000s alongside renewed proposals before the legislature, ultimately culminating in a 2004 protest inside the National Assembly building. The following year in 2005, Kuwaiti women held some of the largest demonstrations in their history, and in May 2005, the Assembly voted to give women full political rights to vote and hold office. The first elections Kuwaiti women ran for office and voted in were in June 2006. In 2009, four women were elected to parliament, Massouma A-Mubarak (the female minister appointed), Aseel Al-Awadhi, Rola Dashti, and Salwa Al-Jassar. In 2012, a lawsuit against the Ministry of Justice was resolved enabling women to hold high positions in the judicial system. In 2014, twenty-two Kuwaiti women were appointed to serve as

Prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

s. In 2018, the

Kuwait Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Kuwait Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs is a cabinet department of the Cabinet of Kuwait, executive branch of the government of Kuwait dedicated to spreading tolerant Islamic culture. Specifically, it seeks to spread awareness and expand the i ...

changed its policies to allow women in senior positions. In December 2019, three women were appointed to cabinet positions, Available with photographs fro
MENAFN
including the first female Minister of Finance in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

region. On 30 June 2020, Kuwaiti Attorney General, Dirar Al-Asousi, approved the promotion of eight female prosecutors to become

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

s. On 3 September 2020, the eight judges were sworn in as the first female judges in Kuwait's history.

Demographics and statistics

;International rankings Kuwait's position in international rankings has varied over the years. In 2014, Kuwait was ranked 113 of 142 globally in the Global Gender Gap Report, the country improved its ranking due to significant increases in the overall income indicator. In 2015, Kuwait was ranked 117 of 145 globally in the Global Gender Index. In 2020, Kuwait was ranked 122 of 153 globally in the Global Gender Gap Report. Regarding the GGGR subindex, Kuwait ranked 142 of 152 on political empowerment 143 of 153 on health and survival, 120 of 153 on economic opportunity, and 57 of 153 on educational attainment. In 2021, Kuwait was ranked 143 of 156 globally in the Global Gender Gap Report.Global Gender Gap Report 2021
World Economic Forum. Retrieved 17 December 2022 Regarding the GGGR subindex, Kuwait ranked 153 of 156 on political empowerment, 94 of 156 on health and survival, 137 of 156 on economic opportunity, and 59 of 156 on educational attainment.

Legal statutes

Citizenship

The Nationality Act (1959) grants Kuwaiti men and women equal right to retain their citizenship, however citizenship is only automatically inherited by children if the father is a Kuwaiti citizen. Women's citizenship is not automatically inherited by children and only becomes so under

exceptional circumstances Exceptional circumstances are the conditions required to grant additional powers to a government agency or government leader so as to alleviate, or mitigate, unforeseen or unconventional hardship. The term is commonly used in Australia, where it h ...

, such as unknown father, divorce, or widowing. Kuwaiti women's citizenship does not transfer to non-Kuwaiti husbands, who must apply for

residency Residency may refer to: * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place ** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship * Residency (medicine), a stage of postgrad ...

, unlike non-Kuwaiti wives of Kuwaiti men who are granted automatic residency and a pathway to citizenship after 15–18 years. As a result, both a non-Kuwaiti husband and any children a Kuwaiti wife has with him experience significant disadvantage— a lack of occupational, familial, and other rights.

Family law

The Kuwaiti Personal Status Act of 1984 ( Family Law Act), based in

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...

(

Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...

), governs family law in the country.

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

applies to Muslim citizens and residents, with different courts and rules for

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

and

Shi’a Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...

, a notable difference being Ja’fari applying to the latter group. Non-Muslims in Kuwait have their own secular court. In terms of marriage, Muslim women are not permitted to marry without the permission of a '' wali'', a male guardian, or marry non-Muslim men. Only men are allowed as legal witnesses for a marriage. Women's witnessing is either discounted or disallowed, depending on the legal context in question. The minimum age for women to marry is 15, provided approved by the ''wali''.

Polygyny Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women. Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any o ...

is legally permissible and a man may up to four wives, of which any existing wife(s) have no say in, however the practice is uncommon. Culturally, forced marriages (''ijbar'') may also occur without consent of the bride, with attempts at annulment by the bride often met with heavy coercion or threats of prosecution. In terms of divorce, both husband and wife may seek divorce—the husband may divorce her at will (''

talaq Divorce in Islam can take a variety of forms, some initiated by the husband and some initiated by the wife. The main traditional legal categories are ''talaq'' ( repudiation), ''khulʿ'' (mutual divorce or ransom divorce) Historically, the rules ...

''), while wife may only seek legal divorce (''fasakh'') under specific conditions such as lack of financial support, exceptional absence, criminality, husband's deconversion from Islam, or chronic/terminal illness. With permission of her husband, women may also divorce through khul', returning her

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...

or the equivalent. In terms of child custody, the legal guardianship of Muslim children is possessed by the husband of their mother (presumed father) in most cases. In the case of divorce, legal custody remains with the father and physical custody remains with the mother until the children reach a certain age. Any women who remarry or are divorced for

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

typically lose all child custody rights of previous children. Women who are divorced, widowed, or married to a foreigner may be considered to lead the household. Abortion is heavily restricted in Kuwait and can only be sought up to 17 weeks of pregnancy for reasons of the mother's health (physical or mental) or fetal deformity/unviability only.

Sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...

, economic needs, and social needs are not valid reasons. Abortion outside of the few allowed is criminalized, carrying between 3 and 15 years incarceration. In terms of inheritance, Muslim men are entitled to inherit twice as much as women, provided they are on similar relation level to the deceased (such as siblings). Widowed wives do not receive the same inheritance compared to widower husbands.

Employment and property rights

According to the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

in 2013, the share of Kuwaiti women in the workforce was 53 percent which is significantly higher than the

MENA MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...

average of 21 percent and slightly higher than the world average of 51 percent. Kuwaiti women outnumber men in the workforce and Kuwait has the highest rate of female citizen workforce participation in the GCC. However, working women are at a higher risk of unemployment than men overall at a ratio of 5.11:1. Most working women are in

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infra ...

tertiary industry The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

positions. Education and modernization policies have given Kuwaiti women more opportunities in the workforce, albeit they grapple with a patriarchal culture which primarily expects them to prioritize homemaking and

child-rearing Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical fitness, physical, emotional, Social change, social, spiritual and intellectual development of a child from infant, infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raisi ...

. The Kuwait Constitution prohibits slavery and discrimination. Legally, women and men should receive

equal pay for equal work Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the full ...

, albeit there is a large gender pay gap in Kuwait. Muslim women are not permitted to work at night (10 p.m to 7 am), at anything considered immoral for women, or at the discretion of a husband if he feels his wife working would negatively impact "family interests". On 25 August 2019, the Ja'fari Personal Status Law was codified, preventing Shi'a husbands from forcing their wife to quit working if she worked before their marriage began. Legally, women and men can own property and exercise rights to their property equally, especially in the case of women who are divorced, widowed, or married to foreigners. Women have the legal right to banking and contract without the consent of males. However, Muslim women may experience ''de facto'' restrictions due to their families. The Kuwait government subsidizes certain types of finances for divorced or widowed Kuwaiti women provided they have children to care for. The Kuwait Labour Code provides maternity leave for women, who can receive 70-day of paid leave and up to four months of optional unpaid leave, during which employment termination is illegal. Additionally, employers with more than 50 female employees must provide infant childcare facilities by law. The Civil Service Committee Decree of 1993 discriminates between women married to Kuwaiti men versus non-Kuwaiti men. Those married to Kuwaiti men are given four months of paid (half typical pay) after their maternity leave, however those married to non-Kuwaiti men are not.

Domestic violence

Until August 2020, there had been no laws specifically criminalizing

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

and

marital rape Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and need not involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of domestic vi ...

. On 19 August 2020, Kuwait passed the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence criminalizing "physical, psychological, sexual, or financial mistreatment, whether in words or actions" between family members, going into effect the following year of 2021. The act provides for protective orders, shelters, a victim hotline,

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to co ...

, and

counseling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. This is a list of co ...

. According to Human Rights Watch, the new law is not fully comprehensive, only setting penalties for violating victim-sought protective orders and not the actual acts of abuse or violence, and only applying to current legal family relationships, not former partners, those dating or courting, those engaged, or those in unofficial marriages (such as

common-law marriage Common-law marriage, also known as non-ceremonial marriage, marriage, informal marriage, or marriage by habit and repute, is a legal framework where a couple may be considered married without having formally registered their relation as a civil ...

and

domestic partnership A domestic partnership is a legal relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee r ...

). Prior to this, a husband's sexual actions with an unconsenting wife were only illegal if they were "unnatural acts". Theoretically, the Kuwaiti Penal Code provides reduced or fine-only punishment for a man

honor killing An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...

his female relative finds her committing adultery (''zina''), a law which conflicts with not only the Constitution of Kuwait but Shariah law as well. A 2016 survey of the

Arab states of the Persian Gulf The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...

found most women were not aware of this law and 63% rejected its existence. The Code also states if a man

kidnaps In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/ asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the ...

a woman intending to abuse, rape,

pimp Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

, murder, or extort her, he will not receive punishment if he marries the woman with her guardian's (''wali'') approval, the woman has no say in the matter. Additionally,

age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim ...

does not exist, as sexual acts outside legal marriage are illegal. It is believed that domestic violence is both common and under-reported despite the country slowly moving towards reducing the problem. A 2019 survey by Orange Kuwait, a non-governmental organization focusing on

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...

, found 82.16 percent of those surveyed believed domestic violence was a significant problem in Kuwait, and 62.91 percent had experienced abuse themselves. Those surveyed were 83.5 percent women. A 2011 study by Kuwait University found 40 percent of women reported at least one instance of physical abuse from their husband. A 2011 survey by the Kuwait Minister of Justice found 35 percent of women reported abuse.

Arts and creativity

;Museums and galleries Kuwait's long tradition of artistic expression has been spearheaded and organized by women. Women’s involvement in the fine arts dates back to at least the mid 20th century. In 1969, sister and brother Najat and Ghazi Sultan established The Sultan Gallery, one of Kuwait's oldest art galleries, providing access to both public and professionals, and promoting art and secular understanding. During the

, it was closed, reopening in 2006 under the direction of Farida Sultan. Currently the Sultan Gallery focuses on a wide range of mediums, but especially photography. Contemporary Kuwaiti artists include Thuraya al Baqsami, who trained in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

and

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

whose works can be found in museums worldwide; Sheikha Hussa Al-Sabah, wife of Sheikh

Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah ( ar, ناصر صباح الأحمد الصباح; 27 April 1948 – 20 December 2020) was the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense of Kuwait, and before that he was the head of the Amiri Diwan ...

, served as the director of Kuwait National Museum for three decades, establishing

Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah is a cultural organization operating several cultural centers in Kuwait. The organization has a collection of more than 20,000 items of rare Islamic art. The collection belongs to Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah ...

() in 1983 focusing on antique Islamic artifacts. During the Gulf War, the museum was thoroughly looted by Iraqi forces, returning most of the valuables, though often damaged, after intervention of the United Nations. Following the war in 1992, Sheikha Hussah created the Dar al-Funoon () for contemporary art. Sheikha Lulu Al-Sabah, daughter of Sheikha Paula Al-Sabah and wife of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Sabah (son of Emir Nawaf Al-Sabah), has continued the art advocacy into a new generation, establishing an annual

art auction Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of what ...

called JAMM in 2010 focusing on contemporary art.

Non-Kuwaiti women in Kuwait

Bedoon (stateless)

Stateless people of Kuwait are at risk of significant human rights abuses. According to Human Rights Watch, Kuwait has produced 300,000 Bedoon. Kuwait has the largest number of stateless people in the entire region. The Bedoon are at risk of persecution and abuse more than the citizens and expats in Kuwait.

Foreign workers

Kuwait has a very high percentage of migrant workers. Many Egyptian, Palestinian, Filipino and Southeast Asian women live in Kuwait. Palestinian women have worked in Kuwait since the 1950s, historically as teachers in girls’ schools. Nearly 90% of Kuwaiti households employ a foreigner worker, most often a South Asian woman. These women's labor is crucial to the social reproduction of Kuwait, though they occupy a marginal status and are not granted state protection or oversight. Non-Nationals are subject to residence and labor laws, which prevent them from permanently settling in Kuwait. Under the kafala system, whereby all migrants must have a citizen who sponsors their residence in Kuwait, many migrant workers cannot leave or enter the country without their employer's permission and are often exploited. The system has long been controversial and has "been criticized as a form of bonded labor or even slavery." A United Nations expert even urged Kuwait to abolish this system.

Notable Kuwaiti women

* Noureya Al-Saddani: An author, historian, broadcaster and director, Al-Saddani started the first women's organization in Kuwait. In 1971, she proposed to the National Assembly to grant women's political rights. During the invasion she worked in charity and mobilized the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

; upon her return to Kuwait she put together radio biographies of all the female martyrs in the invasion. * Loulwa Abdulwahab Essa Al-Qatami: Al-Qatami the first woman to study abroad, she left Kuwait on 12 June 1955 for a degree in Education. Upon her return, she and a few other Kuwaiti women founded the Women's Cultural and Social Society in 1963. She and the group have been instrumentally active in advancements for women since the 1960s; they work on mobilizing women, raising awareness and philanthropy. * Khadîjah al-Mahmît – Suffrage and women's rights activist, author, and public figure. Her works redefined the intellectual perspective for Kuwaiti women regarding suffrage and other rights. * Sarah Akbar: Akbar is Kuwait's first Petroleum Engineer in the field. During the invasion, Akbar led a group of oil employees to maintain machinery and electricity and after the Iraqi troops left and set several oil fields on fire, Akbar set up a team to control and extinguish the fires, earning her the nickname "firefighter". * Asrar Al-Qabandi: Al-Qabandi was a martyr of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. During the occupation she helped people flee to safety, smuggled weapons and money into Kuwait as well as disks from the Ministry of Civil Information to safety, cared for many wounded by the war, and destroyed monitoring devices used by the Iraqi troops. She was captured and subsequently killed by Iraqi troops in January 1991. * Huda Ashkanani, poet *

Laila al-Othman Laila al-Othman (sometimes Laylā al-'Uthmān) is a Kuwaiti writer, novelist, short story writer, and a famous fictionist who was born into a prominent Kuwaiti family in 1943, and only 22 years later she made her writing debut in a local newspaper ...

is one of Kuwait's most famous authors and columnists. She has written a number of short stories and novels and often deals with themes that challenge traditional norms. She has faced conservative resistance to her work. *

Thuraya Al-Baqsami Thuraya Al-Baqsami (born 1952) is a Kuwaiti artist and writer. References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baqsami, Thuraya 1952 births Living people Kuwaiti women artists Kuwaiti contemporary artists Kuwaiti writers ...

— internationally-acclaimed

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...

, illustrator, and writer *

Shurooq Amin Shurooq Amin (born 1967) is a Kuwaiti painter and poet. Early life and education Shurooq Amin was born in Kuwait in 1967 to a Kuwaiti father and a Syrian mother. Her father died when she was 11. She earned her BA in English literature from Kuwai ...

— whose subversive art pieces aim to challenge perceptions of society in the Gulf * Fatima Al-Qadiri — member of

Future Brown Future Brown are a production group formed of Fatima Al Qadiri, J-Cush, Asma Maroof and Daniel Pineda (the Los Angeles based duo also known as Nguzunguzu). In July 2013, the group posted their first single "Wanna Party" featuring Chicago based ...

, artist, musician and composer inspired by

experiences * Monira Al-Qadiri, PhD – internationally-recognized mixed-media visual artist, designer, sculptor, and filmmaker; her art is experimental and subversive