The Role of Women in Kuwait
1
Sa’ad ALanezi
The Role of Women in Kuwait
The Role of Women in Kuwait
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Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3
The Traditional Role of Women in Kuwait .................................................................................................... 3
The Changing Role of Women in Kuwait ...................................................................................................... 5
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 8
References .................................................................................................................................................. 11
The Role of Women in Kuwait
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Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the role of women in Kuwait. The paper aims to
establish a foundation regarding several aspects of the role of women in Kuwait, which
encompass social, economic, political and economic roles. Furthermore, the paper will also
discuss how roles played by women have changed overtime in the context of the modern Kuwaiti
society. This assessment is conducted with respect to three distinct time periods in Kuwaiti
history that is the Pre-Oil Kuwait, the Post-Independence Kuwait and Modern Kuwait.
The Traditional Role of Women in Kuwait
Before the discovery of oil in Kuwait, the country’s economic situation was at its worse.
This is reflected in the fact that during the Pre-Oil period, the nation was classified as one of the
poorest countries in the world (Shelash, 1985).
The traditional Kuwaiti society was essentially diversified in its sustenance, with
dependency upon several industries such as fishing, while, agriculture did not play a significant
role in the country’s GDP. In this simple setup, gender roles were highly stereotypical, where the
male member of the house acted as the head of the family as well as the provider and economic
caretaker of the house. Shelash (1985) noted that the man of the house also enjoyed complete
authority over other members of the family, especially women in matters relating to marriage
and other important decisions pertaining to the affairs of the household.
The Role of Women in Kuwait
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Therefore, in the traditional Kuwaiti society, women had no participation whatsoever in
the arrangements and affairs of the family either economically or socially. Moreover, male
dominance in the attribution of roles was so stringent that any woman who was caught violating
the rules faced serious and severe repercussions.
Shelash (1985) concluded that such practices reflected the existence of immense
discrepancies and inequalities between the rights of men and women. Men, in traditional Kuwaiti
society enjoyed freedom to choose their wives while, women had no say in matters relating to
marriage. This further stems the notion that the role of Kuwaiti women has traditionally been
limited to accommodating to the needs and wants of the men of the society which for
commentators such as Shelash (1985) is reflective of the submissive role of women in preindependence Kuwait.
Several commentators have sought to explore the relationship between the roles of
women in countries of the Arabian Peninsula such as Kuwait, the cultural implications of their
status in their countries and Islam. Shelash (1985) concludes that the seemingly passive role that
Kuwaiti women were traditional expected to abide by in the Pre-Oil era of the country was a
result of culture rather than the teachings of Islam.
The Kuwaiti culture expected women to be docile and submissive citizens, whose roles
were limited to that of mother, wife, daughter and sister (Keedie and Beck, 1978:26).
Educational opportunities in traditional Kuwait were also limited and highly restricted for
girls; it was not until three years before the country’s independence in June 1961 that the female
population was able to go to school, significant discrepancy in the gender-based percentage of
students attending school in Kuwait remained till the period of 1961-1962, as male attendance in
The Role of Women in Kuwait
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educational institutions greatly surpassed the percentage of female students in the classroom
(Shelash, 1985).
Rizzo (2005) asserts that in the case of Kuwait, the role of women has been traditionally
associated with her family along with the cultural and religious values of the country. This view
postulates that despite of the progress that Kuwait has experienced as a consequence of the
discovery of its oil-reserves and even with its subsequent transformation into an industrialized
and modern society, past, present and previous Kuwaiti governments have strongly expressed
their stance regarding the segregation of the roles that should be played by men and women in
society (Rizzo, 2005:8).
According to Al-Kazi (2011), NGOs and similar organizations have faced several hurdles
in promoting gender equality in Kuwait, mostly, due to opposition from various groups within
the government. This statement supports the argument which has been put forward by Rizzo
(2005) who observed that the political role of women in Kuwait is very weak and subject to
oppositions from governments who have strongly advocated the establishment of a patriarchal
rule within the country which does not support the representation of women within the political
and judicial setup of Kuwait.
The following part of the paper however, will examine the emerging trends in the role of
women in Kuwait, which portray a positive, hopeful and optimistic picture of the changing
status, position and role of women in Kuwaiti society by assessing various economic, political
and social implications.
The Changing Role of Women in Kuwait
The Role of Women in Kuwait
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Shelash (1985) concluded that the evolving economic setting of Kuwait was an outcome
of two drastic changes that were experienced by the nation; the first of which was the declaration
of the country as a sovereign and independent nation in June of 1961and second was the
discovery of oil reserves in the country.
In 1965 the labor force participation of women in comparison with men had been 1.8% of
the total percentage of the Kuwaiti labor force, in 1980 however, the female participation in the
total labor force increased to an impressive 10.3% (Shelash, 1985). Another contrast of the
changes that were brought about by early economic development is reflective in the statistics
which show that in 1975 54.3% of women held professional jobs, when 18 years ago this
percentage stood at a mere 6.9% (Al-Shallal, 1980).
The aforementioned statistics show the extent of the impact that economic development
has had in encouraging females to enter the labor force, this suggests that the changing role of
Kuwaiti women from homemakers to professionals is greatly dependent upon the evolution of
Kuwaiti society into an industrialized and modernized state.
According to Nasser et al. (2012) a research conducted on a sample of Kuwaiti women
who had attained there degrees or were in the process of receiving their degrees, regarding the
factors which influence their decision to become entrepreneurs or choose self-employment
reported that even though, traditional factors such as cultural norms, customs, family pressure
and religion did control their decision to choose entrepreneurship or self-employment, modern
Kuwaiti women preferred to attach greater preference to factors which personally contributed to
their decision of selecting entrepreneurship or self-employment rather than giving in to pressure
from external forces in shaping their careers. Respondents felt that being the owners of their own
The Role of Women in Kuwait
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businesses would empower them, allow them to make their own decisions and also improve their
socioeconomic standing in society. Other personal aspects were related to the availability of a
viable and innovative business idea along with sufficient capital to start a business.
The significance of the research conducted by Nasser et al. (2012) is that it reflects the
transformation of Kuwaiti women from passive members of society to active citizens of their
country who are willing to question their traditional roles in society and the forces that bind them
to abide by limited roles and duties. The interpretation of the respondents’ answers to the
question posed by the researchers is indicative of a modern mindset that has developed amongst
Kuwaiti women in recent times.
Al-Kazi (2011) observes that despite of the opposition that the emergence of women’s
roles in non-governmental organizations has faced, relentless efforts by women in lobbying
members of the government have garnered successful results. This has allowed women to attain
a more active role in voicing their concerns, opinions and issues through various platforms in
Kuwait.
Furthermore, bodies governed and managed by women have proved to be instrumental in
raising awareness about women’s rights in the country, the initiatives by NGOs have
spearheaded efforts to liberate females in Kuwait by providing them with education through
various programs and also promoting the provision of civil rights to women (Al-Kazi, 2011).
Even though, the establishment of such organizations by women has greatly shaped the
course of women’s rights in Kuwait and also enhanced their roles and status in society for the
better, it should be noted that all of these outcomes have been a consequence of individual efforts
rather than the actions of a formally regulated body established by the government. Regardless,
The Role of Women in Kuwait
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of a this fact the movements to assist the changing role of women in Kuwait are being driven by
a desire to break free from traditional and long-established customs that have governed the role
of women in the country. Al-Kazi (2011) concludes that the effectiveness of such NGO
initiatives and programs is highly critical in bridging the gap between the Kuwaiti women as a
group and the government of the nation.
While, commentators such as Rizzo (2005) have been critical of political advancements
in Kuwait to encourage greater female participation in the affairs of the state, recent
developments in the country on the political front have been very promising.
In May of 2005, for the first time in the nation’s history, Kuwaiti women were granted
the right to choose their leaders and to run for office (ndi.org/kuwait, April 24, 2013). This
historic moment in the nation’s history reflects the changing dimension of Kuwaiti society, that
is willing to empower its female citizens to allow them greater liberty, independence and
autonomy as citizens of their country. The National Democratic Institute reports that in the
elections of 2009, four Kuwaiti women received the honor of becoming parliamentarians which
is indeed a positive step towards the progress of Kuwaiti society (ndi.org/kuwait, April 24,
2013).
Conclusion
The objective of this paper was to assess and evaluate the role of women in Kuwait and
how these roles changed overtime with the socioeconomic development of the nation. The paper
discussed the role of women in Kuwait with respect to distinct time periods as identified by
Shelash (1985). The first time period discussed is before the discovery of oil in the nation (Pre-
The Role of Women in Kuwait
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Oil Kuwait), the second time period assessed in the paper is that of post-independence from 1961
(Post-Oil Kuwait) and the third time period discussed is with respect to the current society of
Kuwait, which is a modern and industrialized state.
It should be noted that traditional roles of women in Kuwait have been highly influenced
by factors such as customs, culture and religion (Rizzo, 2005). This view postulates that Kuwaiti
society has been marred with patriarchal values and male-dominated customs that have degraded
and disregarded women for a long time. Traditionally, women’s involvement in the economic
makeup of Kuwait was limited or inexistent as men played the roles of being caretakers and
providers of the family; moreover, female participation in household decision-making was also
frowned upon.
The discovery of oil in the nation led to an economic revolution in the country due to
which female labor participation in the workforce experienced a tremendous boost up till the
1980s. Furthermore, educational opportunities for girls also began to emerge. The socioeconomic
improvement of women assisted the transition of women from mothers, wives, daughters and
sisters to professionals, parliamentarians, entrepreneurs and activists.
Despite, of the recent improvement and betterment in the roles of women and attitude
towards women in Kuwaiti society, it can be stated that the magnitude and scale of efforts to
elevate the status of women in Kuwait needs to be widened.
For example, the historic moment of 2005 which the granted Kuwaiti women the right to
vote and to run for office is yet to produce successful results in practice. The National
Democratic Institute (2013) reports that after the promising feat which saw the election of four
women into the Kuwait parliament in 2009, women candidates failed to secure parliament seats
The Role of Women in Kuwait
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in subsequent elections. This indicates a lack of commitment to practically incorporate female
representation in the government. It is suggested that the Kuwaiti government should introduce
reserved seats for women in the parliament or inaugurate a quota system within the parliament to
ensure women’s representation.
Lastly, the state must also assist the role of NGOs in encouraging gender equality in the
country by listening to their views and concerns in order to initiate programs relating to the
spread of awareness regarding women’s roles in society and promoting girls’ education.
The Role of Women in Kuwait
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References
Al-Kazi, L. 2011. Women and non-governmental organizations in Kuwait: a platform for human
resource
development
and
social
change. Human
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International, 14(2), 167-181.
Al-Shallal, Khalid. 1980. The Participation of Kuwaiti Women In The Labor Force And Their
Distribution In Jobs. Master Thesis, Michigan State University.
Beck, L and Keddie, N. 1978. Women in the Muslim World. Massachussetts: Harvard University
Press
Naser, K., Nuseibeh, R., & Al-Hussaini, A. 2012. Personal And External Factors Effect On
Women
Entrepreneurs:
Evidence
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Kuwait. Journal
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Entrepreneurship, 17(02).
National
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24
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Rizzo, H. M. 2005. Islam, democracy and the status of women: the case of Kuwait. Psychology
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Shelash, M. F. 1985. Change in the perception of the role of women in Kuwait (Doctoral
dissertation, Ohio State University).