Kuwaiti Women Granted Right to Obtain Passports

On Oct. 21, 2009, Kuwait's high court passed a law allowing women to apply for and hold a passport without a husband's signature. The issue was brought to court by Fatima al-Baghli, when her husband refused to give her and their three children their passports, in the effort of keeping them in the country. The law overturned a previous act from 1962 that required the signature of a husband before a woman could obtain her passport. According to The New York Times, the court said, "It undermines her free will and compromises her humanity." Furthermore, Article 29 of the Kuwait Constitution says, "(1) All people are equal in human dignity and in public rights and duties before the law, without distinction to race, origin, language, or religion. (2) Personal liberty is guaranteed." Thus, the court found the previous law to be unconstitutional, preventing women from having equal rights with men. One woman activist, Aisha al-Rsheid, promises to fight for more rights. The New York Times quoted her saying, "We want to see women judges and prosecutors, we want women to give their citizenship to their children, and we want women to have the right to state-provided houses." The high courts's decision is controversial due to Kuwait's political history. Kuwait, which became independent in 1961 and ratified its Constitution in 1962, rules by a political system that significantly adheres to the Islamic law. Thus, the National Assembly, which is Kuwait's 50 member legislative body, rules under the influence of both the Islamic law and the Constitution. However, the balance of such political ruling, becomes particularly difficult in the fight for women's rights. Nonetheless, Kuwaiti women activists have continued to fight for their rights, which they believe to fall within this balance. Effects from this fight were seen in 1999, when the law granting women's suffrage was at first rejected by the National Assembly. With the persistence of women activists, however, the National Assembly passed a law on May 16, 2005, granting women suffrage, which includes the right to vote and run for political office. Then, when the elections came around in 2006, women accounted for 60 percent of the voters, but voters were still encouraged by the National Assembly not to vote for women candidates. It was not until May 16, 2009, that the first four women candidates were elected into the National Assembly. In spite of this, the newly formed law carried the stipulation that women must still adhere to Islamic law. This stipulation, however, has not stopped women activists in their fight for more rights. Fighting for equal rights, however, becomes complicated in a country still highly influenced by Islamic law. Some neighboring countries, for instance, do not entirely approve of Kuwait's more liberal laws. For example, Saudi Arabia maintains stricter adherence to the Islamic law, in both the political and social realms of daily life. As a result, Saudi Arabia prevents women from driving cars and requires strict dress code following Sharia, and women's right to vote remains controversial within the government. Also, until recently, women were not allowed to work in mixed-race work places, but more businesses have been changing this. Nonetheless, Saudi Arabia is expected to continue to slowly change, as it feels the effect and influence of Kuwait. Even the women in Kuwait are aware of the differences between their neighbors and themselves. In the beginning of October, two women in the National Assembly, Rola Dashti and Aseel Al-Awadhi, refused to wear their hijabs to the assembly. According to www.Telegraph.co.uk, Rola Dashti argued, "You can't force a woman going to the mall to wear a hijab and you can't force a woman going to work to wear the hijab. This is not Iran or Saudi Arabia." Rola Dashti displays the difficulty in following Sharia code and fighting for women's rights. Some citizens, along with male parliamentary members, were very angered by this act and are bringing a private suit against the two women. Therefore, while Kuwait has made major steps toward granting women more political and social participation, the struggle for women will likely continue. Not only will these countries, like Saudi Arabia, feel the effects of laws passed in Kuwait, they will also be forced to face the challenge of upholding Islamic law in a modern world fighting for human rights. According to www.Telegraph.co.uk, Dashti said, "There's a group of people who know they cannot Islamise the constitution so they try to Islamise every issue when it comes up. I'm going to examine anything that violates the constitution taking it law by law."