PARLIAMENT LEGISLATION ON WOMEN: WOMEN'S SOCIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 001144

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
NOFORN

FOR NEA/ARP AND G/IWI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/18/2027
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ELAB KWMN KU
SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT LEGISLATION ON WOMEN: WOMEN'S SOCIAL
ENTITLEMENTS, BAN ON NIGHTTIME WORK

REF: A. KUWAIT 489

B. KUWAIT 174

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Timothy Lenderking for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).


1. (C/NF) Summary and Comment: The main piece of women's
legislation on the parliament's agenda, which would grant
women generous paid leave for taking care of children and
other family members, is being handled in a cooperative
manner. After a period of contentious public debates on the
legislation, women's civil society groups and parliament have
been quietly holding productive discussions to refine the
law, according to a prominent Shi'a Islamist women's
activist. In contrast, Kuwait's parliament approved on June
12 a labor law amendment that would prohibit women from
working after 8 p.m. There had been no prior indication that
such an amendment would be introduced, which upset women's
activists and caused liberal MPs to claim they had not known
what they were approving. The Government could have vetoed
the law, but decided not to do so in order to avoid a fight
with Islamists. The difference in the handling of these two
women's rights laws shows that Kuwait is still trying to
adapt to the enhanced role of women in politics since they
won the right to vote in 2005. End Summary and Comment.

Parliament Bans Women from Working After 8 p.m.
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2. (U) The Kuwaiti parliament unanimously approved on June
12 an amendment to the labor law that would prohibit women
from working from 8 p.m. - 7 a.m. with the exception of work
in health clinics and other exceptions to be determined by
the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor. The Amir has
constitutional veto power, which the parliament can then
overturn with a two-thirds supermajority. However, the
executive branch made it known to the press after its July 15
meeting that it has decided not to challenge the amendment
passed by the parliament. The labor law already banned women
from working at night, but there was no definition of what
time constituted "night" and the law has not been enforced.
The new amendment also bans women from working in professions
"harmful to morals" and "which take advantage of women's
feminineness in ways not in accordance with public morals."
The amendment authorizes the Ministry to inspect workplaces
for violations of the new provisions.

Night Work Ban Reveals Social Divisions
--------------


3. (U) The passage of the labor law amendment immediately
stirred strong reactions from the public. Women activists
and liberals wrote scathing criticisms in the press about the
new law. Several liberal parliamentarians even apologized
for signing the bill, saying that it had been rushed through
at the last second and they did not realize what they were
approving. Women's advocates demanded that the Government
reject the law and return it to the parliament.


4. (C/NF) Many Islamists, however, see the amendment as a
protection of women's rights. When a June 26 public
discussion of the TIP report turned to the issue of forced
prostitution in Kuwait, Salafi MP Ahmad Baqer held the
amendment up as an example of Kuwait's humane treatment of
women as compared to the "degradation" women face in the
West. Suad Al-Jarallah, the head of the Women's Committee of
the Social Reform Society (the social wing of the Muslim
Brotherhood) told PolOff on July 2 that she supported the law
because women should be home with their families in the
evening. Other Islamists were not as forceful in their
support. The political director of the Islamic
Constitutional Movement (the ICM is the political wing of the
Muslim Brotherhood) expressed to PolOff tepid support for the
law, but readily admitted that 8 p.m. was too early.
Khadeeja Al-Mahmeed, a Shi'a Islamist women's activist, told
PolOff on July 17 that some regulation of women's work at
night was appropriate, but that 8 p.m. was too early. She
was especially upset that lawmakers had rammed the amendment
through parliament without consulting women.


5. (C/NF) Speculation about why the Government would let
such an amendment become law has focused on political
calculations. Newspapers reported on July 16 and 17 that
Islamist MPs had threatened to grill the Minister for Cabinet
Affairs if the Government rejected the law, but that a
compromise had been worked out to change the definition of
"night" to midnight - 6 am when the parliament reconvenes on
October 30. MP Ali Al-Rashed, one of the staunchest liberal
supporters of women's rights in the parliament, repeated to

KUWAIT 00001144 002 OF 002


PolOff on July 17 the press stories of a backroom deal to
appease the Islamists. He also noted that parliament's labor
affairs committee was close to completing review of a
completely new labor law that would be introduced into
parliament when it reconvenes. Al-Rashed said he had
proposed that the new law only ban women from working at
night in dangerous industrial jobs. He predicted a clash
with Islamists over his proposal.


6. (C/NF) Comment: In practice the existing women's work
ban has not been strictly enforced. The new amendment gives
a great deal of discretion to the Minister of Social Affairs
and Labor and the current minister is a liberal with little
inclination to enforce the law. Women's rights activists are
concerned about what will happen if a more conservative
minister is appointed. The amendment raises potential
concerns for Embassy Kuwait since the Embassy recently hired
its first female guards, who often work night shifts. It is
especially unlikely, however, that the GOK would raise the
issue with regard to U.S. Embassy staff.

Women's Civil and Social Rights Law
--------------


7. (U) In February, Islamists MPs succeeded in convincing
the Women's Affairs Committee to pass a law concerning
women's civil and social rights. The law provided extremely
generous benefits to women, including extended paid leaves of
absence for child-rearing and other family-related duties.
Liberal women criticized the law as an effort to incentivize
women to stay out of the public sphere while Islamist women
activists lauded it as giving concrete expression to the
value of women's role in the family (see reftels A and B).


8. (C/NF) Khadeeja Al-Mahmeed told PolOff, however, that
recently the controversy has actually brought women of
differing political leanings together. She reported that the
National Assembly's Women's Committee has been holding
meetings with representatives of various women's groups
approximately every two weeks to discuss the controversial
law. She said a consensus was developing around the fact
that the benefits offered to women are excessive and would be
a major drain on the state's coffers. She expressed optimism
that these discussions would form the basis for future
cooperation between the often competitive women's groups in
addition to providing an example of how women can contribute
to the legislative process.

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For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s

Visit Kuwait's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/
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Lenderking