A Battle for Women's Rights in Kuwait
2022-03-01
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1Kuwaiti officials recently canceled a yoga trip for women advertised by a teacher of the exercise form.
2Lawmakers and Muslim leaders were upset over the danger of women doing yoga exercises.
3The incident this month was the latest cultural dispute over what women can do in the Arab nation.
4Some observers say the power of tribes and Islamists in Kuwait is growing.
5They say politicians are opposing a growing feminist movement.
6These politicians, some rights activists say, consider women's issues destructive to traditional values.
7At the same time, the government is struggling to deal with difficult economic issues.
8"Our state is backsliding and regressing at a rate that we haven't seen before," said feminist activist Najeeba Hayat to The Associated Press.
9She spoke recently during a women's protest in front of the Kuwaiti parliament.
10The activists were calling for freedoms they say officials have limited.
11The country was once considered progressive compared to its Arab neighbors.
12In recent years, however, women have made gains in other parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
13In Saudi Arabia, women have won greater freedoms under leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
14The "movement against women in Kuwait was always insidious and invisible but now it's risen to the surface," said Alanoud Alsharekh.
15She is a women's rights activist who helped start Abolish 153.
16It is a group that aims to end a law, called Article 153, which provides for weak punishments for so-called honor killings of women.
17Just in the past few months, Kuwaiti officials shut down a popular center for belly dance classes.
18Clerics then demanded police arrest the organizers of a women's event called "The Divine Feminine."
19A court in Kuwait will soon hear a case seeking to ban Netflix after the service produced an Arabic-language movie that some people found offensive.
20Conservative Islamist Hamdan al-Azmi has led the fight against yoga.
21He says yoga damages Arab culture.
22"If defending the daughters of Kuwait is backward, I am honored to be called it," he said.
23These incidents have angered many Kuwaiti women at a time when there are no women in the elected parliament.
24There have also been several recent cases of violent honor killings.
25In one case last year, a Kuwaiti woman named Farah Akbar was taken from her car and stabbed to death by a man.
26He was later released on bail and told to appear later in court.
27The anger over Akbar's killing caused parliament to write a bill that would withdraw Article 153.
28The law says that a man who catches his wife committing adultery or his female relative in "illicit" sex and kills her faces, at most, three years in prison.
29Kuwait's parliamentary committee, however, did not vote on the issue.
30It asked the state's Islamic clerics for a fatwa, or religious ruling, about the law.
31The clerics ruled last month that the law be upheld.
32"Most of these members of parliament come from a system in which honor killings are normal," said Sundus Hussein.
33She is another founding member of the Abolish 153 group.
34After Kuwait's 2020 elections, there was a large increase in the influence of conservative Islamists and tribal members, Hussein added.
35Officials also called on clerics to decide whether women should be permitted to join the military.
36The Defense Ministry had declared they could join last fall.
37But clerics added requirements.
38Last month, they decided women may only join in non-combat groups if they wear Islamic head coverings and get permission from a male guardian.
39The decision upset many Kuwaitis who are used to government not making rules on head coverings.
40Issues affecting women appear to be the only issue on which social conservatives can agree.
41Kuwait's ruler-appointed cabinet and its elected parliament cannot agree on the economy.
42A divided parliament has failed to fix the country's record high deficit or pass economic reforms.
43Two years ago, parliament passed a domestic violence protection law.
44But there are no government women's shelters or services for victims.
45Observers say violence against women has only increased during restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
46Activist Hayat has little hope the government will change anything for Kuwait's women.
47But she said that is no reason to give up.
48"If there's a protest, I'm going to show up. If there's someone who needs convincing, I'm going to try," she said.
49I'm Dan Novak.
50And I'm Jill Robbins.
1Kuwaiti officials recently canceled a yoga trip for women advertised by a teacher of the exercise form. 2Lawmakers and Muslim leaders were upset over the danger of women doing yoga exercises. The incident this month was the latest cultural dispute over what women can do in the Arab nation. 3Some observers say the power of tribes and Islamists in Kuwait is growing. They say politicians are opposing a growing feminist movement. These politicians, some rights activists say, consider women's issues destructive to traditional values. At the same time, the government is struggling to deal with difficult economic issues. 4"Our state is backsliding and regressing at a rate that we haven't seen before," said feminist activist Najeeba Hayat to The Associated Press. She spoke recently during a women's protest in front of the Kuwaiti parliament. The activists were calling for freedoms they say officials have limited. 5The country was once considered progressive compared to its Arab neighbors. 6In recent years, however, women have made gains in other parts of the Arabian Peninsula. In Saudi Arabia, women have won greater freedoms under leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 7The "movement against women in Kuwait was always insidious and invisible but now it's risen to the surface," said Alanoud Alsharekh. She is a women's rights activist who helped start Abolish 153. It is a group that aims to end a law, called Article 153, which provides for weak punishments for so-called honor killings of women. 8Just in the past few months, Kuwaiti officials shut down a popular center for belly dance classes. Clerics then demanded police arrest the organizers of a women's event called "The Divine Feminine." 9A court in Kuwait will soon hear a case seeking to ban Netflix after the service produced an Arabic-language movie that some people found offensive. 10Conservative Islamist Hamdan al-Azmi has led the fight against yoga. He says yoga damages Arab culture. 11"If defending the daughters of Kuwait is backward, I am honored to be called it," he said. 12These incidents have angered many Kuwaiti women at a time when there are no women in the elected parliament. There have also been several recent cases of violent honor killings. 13In one case last year, a Kuwaiti woman named Farah Akbar was taken from her car and stabbed to death by a man. He was later released on bail and told to appear later in court. 14The anger over Akbar's killing caused parliament to write a bill that would withdraw Article 153. The law says that a man who catches his wife committing adultery or his female relative in "illicit" sex and kills her faces, at most, three years in prison. 15Kuwait's parliamentary committee, however, did not vote on the issue. It asked the state's Islamic clerics for a fatwa, or religious ruling, about the law. 16The clerics ruled last month that the law be upheld. 17"Most of these members of parliament come from a system in which honor killings are normal," said Sundus Hussein. She is another founding member of the Abolish 153 group. 18After Kuwait's 2020 elections, there was a large increase in the influence of conservative Islamists and tribal members, Hussein added. 19Officials also called on clerics to decide whether women should be permitted to join the military. 20The Defense Ministry had declared they could join last fall. But clerics added requirements. Last month, they decided women may only join in non-combat groups if they wear Islamic head coverings and get permission from a male guardian. 21The decision upset many Kuwaitis who are used to government not making rules on head coverings. 22Issues affecting women appear to be the only issue on which social conservatives can agree. Kuwait's ruler-appointed cabinet and its elected parliament cannot agree on the economy. A divided parliament has failed to fix the country's record high deficit or pass economic reforms. 23Two years ago, parliament passed a domestic violence protection law. But there are no government women's shelters or services for victims. Observers say violence against women has only increased during restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. 24Activist Hayat has little hope the government will change anything for Kuwait's women. But she said that is no reason to give up. 25"If there's a protest, I'm going to show up. If there's someone who needs convincing, I'm going to try," she said. 26I'm Dan Novak. 27And I'm Jill Robbins. 28Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 29________________________________________________________________ 30Words in This Story 31yoga - n. a system of exercises for mental and physical health 32regress - v. to return to an earlier and usually worse or less developed condition or state 33insidious - adj. causing harm in a way that is gradual or not easily noticed 34invisible - adj. impossible to see; not visible 35bail - n. an amount of money given to a court to allow a prisoner to leave jail and return later for a trial 36adultery - n. sex between a married person and someone who is not that person's wife or husband 37domestic -adj. relating to or involving someone's home or family 38convince- v. to cause (someone) to believe that something is true; to persuade