KUWAIT:
Challenges facing Kuwait’s 730,000 domestic workers should be at the forefront when marking the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, said Mazen AboulHosn, Chief of Mission for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), citing ILO statistics.
“Some workers fear filing complaints due to potential job loss, while employers might unintentionally violate rights because they are uninformed,” AboulHosn explained in an interview with Kuwait Times on the sidelines of the “Orange the World” panel discussion hosted by the United Nations on Sunday. He addressed the widespread lack of awareness about workers’ rights and the available support mechanisms among both domestic workers and employers.
Ambassador Sheikha Jawaher Al-Sabah, Assistant Foreign Minister for Human Rights Affairs, reinforced Kuwait’s commitment to protecting women and families. A key achievement she highlighted was the enactment of Law No 16 of 2020 on Domestic Violence Protection, which provides a legal foundation for safeguarding women’s rights. “This law establishes shelters offering comprehensive services for domestic violence survivors, including psychological, social, and legal assistance, while maintaining strict confidentiality,” she said. “Additionally, hotlines have been launched to report incidents and provide immediate support, and protective orders are issued to safeguard victims, with strict penalties for violations.
Laws ‘should evolve’
While AboulHosn acknowledged the legal frameworks Kuwait has in place to address women’s issues and domestic workers’ rights, he emphasized that improvements are still needed. For example, if future revisions of Kuwait’s domestic violence law were to be made, he suggested that they could include provisions offering greater protections for domestic workers. “Laws are not set in stone; they should evolve with emerging needs,” Aboulhosn said.
For the laws to be effectively implemented, he believes it requires time and feedback from the workers themselves, particularly given the large size of this population. Aboulhosn also highlighted the language barrier as another factor hindering the effective implementation of the law for migrant workers.
Therefore, he noted that various entities, including the Kuwait Human Rights Society, the Kuwait Trade Union Federation, and the Public Authority for Manpower, are working to expand language services. “It’s not just in English or Arabic; they are extending these services to accommodate a diverse population, including workers from the Philippines, Nepal, and many other countries.”
Role of education
Sheikha Jawaher also emphasized that law enforcement personnel undergo specialized training to ensure the law’s fair and effective application. She further noted Kuwait’s commitment to collaborating with civil society organizations to raise awareness about combating violence against women and creating a secure environment that guarantees their protection and support.
Dr. Lubna Al-Kazi, Professor at Kuwait University and Founder of the Women’s Research & Studies Center, highlighted the crucial role of education in addressing gender-based violence. “Educating women about their rights is very important,” she said. “Without knowledge of their rights, many women will not take advantage of the protections available under the law.” She pointed out that despite the high prevalence of violence—one in three women is exposed to it—nine out of ten victims do not report the incidents.
Dr. Al-Kazi stressed that prevention is key, not just intervention. “We don’t need to wait for victims to appear; we need to prevent them,” she said, underscoring the importance of early education. In her work at the university, she encourages students to bring their parents to awareness sessions, believing that “the mother is the invisible hand” in shaping attitudes and behavior. By educating mothers about their role in fostering respect and preventing violence within families, the ripple effect can extend throughout society, creating a safer and more informed community.
