Four years ago, they won the right to vote. In May this year, four of them were elected to parliament. And on October 20, they were granted the right to obtain passports without the prior consent of their husbands.
Kuwaiti women have come a long way. And they most likely will not halt their inexorable progress, overtaking many of their sisters in other Gulf countries who were initially far ahead, seemingly unassailable.
“This is a victory for the constitution of Kuwait and also a new gain for Kuwaiti women,” the woman who was behind the suit that led the breakthrough ruling said, fleeting minutes after the court ruled that the article that restricted women’s right to obtain their own passports and linked it to the consent of their husbands, was unconstitutional.
Fatima Bint Abdullah Al Baghli stood no chance when she filed the suit, asking for what most people take as granted in the 21st century: obtaining a passport with no need for the consent of her husband.
The text of the law, passed in 1962, was clear: No wife could obtain the passport without the approval of her husband.
Yet, the spirit of the law was a flagrant violation of the constitution which called for the preservation of people’s dignity regardless of their gender and race.
Fatima, her lawyer and pro-women activists based their move for the passport rights on the doubts about the constitutionality of the law. Their determination and tenacity paid off, to their eternal credit.
“The decision of the court to allow women to obtain passports with the consent of their husbands is a victory for the values and principles of the constitution” said MP Aseel Al Awadhi. “It is a vindication for women’s rights.”
For the Women’s Cultural Society, "the court’s ruling reinforced the repeated calls to give back the rights of Kuwaiti women after years of deprivation.”
“It is an honourable and sincere step towards the consecration of freedom and democracy. Not allowing women to obtain passports without the consent of their husbands is a clear violation of Article 29 of the Constitution which states that all people are equal in human dignity and in public rights and duties before the law, without distinction to race, origin, language, or religion,” said Lulwa Al Mulla, the secretary general of the society.
But while women’s rights activists are celebrating the new landmark in women’s gains since the Kuwaiti Amir granted them political rights in 1999, those who have long opposed a greater role for women are warning against the consequences.
“This is a calamity. They will soon push for banning veils in schools and public places. We are dangerously moving towards a secular state. May God grant us His Mercy and protect our country,” one blogger wrote in comments about the decision.
“The decision clearly violates the precepts of Islam. We will now see more abuses because of this decision. No woman should be allowed to travel outside the country without being accompanied by a man. I am deeply shocked,” another blogger said.
“It seems that we have resolved all our problems and that we are now amongst the most advanced states in the world,” according to a sarcastic blogger who poked fun at the decision. “We are now smarter and greater thanks to the court.”
In Bahrain, columnist Esmat Al Mousawi saw the decision as another positive step for Kuwaiti women towards greater rights.
“I congratulate them on this new gain, and I look forward to more achievements. I am happy for them because a few years ago, they had little to celebrate. Now, they have made great steps and are steadily moving forward,” said Esmat who was once an editor in chief of a local magazine.
