Kuwait Promoting Rights of Women and Girls
Advancing human rights is the vital precursor to developing peaceful, stable, resilient, inclusive and sustainable societies, as it fosters equality and justice for all, and helps address root causes of conflicts and crises.
By Reaven D’Souza
Executive Managing Editor
Advancing human rights is the vital precursor to developing peaceful, stable, resilient, inclusive and sustainable societies, as it fosters equality and justice for all, and helps address root causes of conflicts and crises.
In particular, upholding the human rights of women and girls empowers and gives them a voice in matters that affect their lives and livelihoods, and provides essential safeguards against discrimination, violence, and abuse.. By championing human rights, states can ensure that every individual’s life is valued, respected and protected.
Last week the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, Reem Al-Salem, conducted an official visit to Kuwait to lend her support and suggest recommendations to enhance Kuwait’s efforts in protecting the rights of women and girls.
The visit, from 2–9 September, was part of ongoing efforts by Kuwait to further advance human rights in the country through engaging in cooperation with international organizations, working groups of United Nations mandate holders on human rights, and Special Rapporteurs.
During her eight-day trip to Kuwait, the UN Special Rapporteur visited several governorates and met with government representatives, representatives of international organizations, civil society organizations, academics, and a number of women victims of violence and abuse.
As part of her visit, Al-Salem also met with Minister of Social Affairs, Family and Childhood Affairs Dr. Amthal Al-Huwailah, and discussed various national initiatives focused on developing social services for women, in line with Kuwait’s commitments to supporting women’s rights.
Al-Salem also met with Assistant Foreign Minister for Human Rights Affairs Sheikha Jawaher Ibrahim Al-Duaij Al-Sabah, and was briefed on Kuwait’s tireless efforts to support and empower women across various sectors. Sheikha Jawaher Al-Sabah highlighted the achievements of Kuwaiti women in various sectors that are on par with their male counterparts, most notably in the diplomatic corps, security and police sectors, the judiciary, public prosecution, sports sector, and youth support.
She also stressed that Kuwait, based on its development vision New Kuwait 2035 and its membership in the Human Rights Council for the period 2024-2026, is continuing to build bridges of cooperation with the UN and its various bodies, including the Human Rights Council, as part of its commitment to strengthening the human rights situation.
Additionally, the visiting UN rapporteur met with Deputy Director General of the General Department of Investigations at Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior (MoI), Reem Al-Mousa, to discuss ways to enhance Kuwait’s legal framework for protecting women and girls from all forms of violence, safeguard human dignity, and ensure the protection of their rights in line with relevant international conventions.
Following these meetings, Al-Salem praised Kuwait’s progress on women’s rights, recognizing the country’s advancements as a testament to its commitment to upholding justice, human dignity, and international cooperation on related issues. She acknowledged the significant strides made by Kuwait in supporting women’s rights and tackling gender-based violence. Concluding her visit to Kuwait, Al-Salem held a meeting with local media representatives, at the UN House on 9 September.
During the meeting, the special rapporteur praised Kuwait’s pioneering humanitarian leadership, and commended the remarkable progress the country has made in advancing the rights of women and girls. In particular, she emphasized Kuwait’s efforts to promote gender equality in line with its commitment to the fundamental principles of human rights, and to its Vision 2035 development plan.
In this regard, Al-Salem highlighted the legal and institutional frameworks adopted, and reforms introduced, by Kuwait to prevent and combat violence against women and girls, She noted that these include the adoption of the Domestic Violence Law of 2020, the 2025 Penal Code reform, which eliminated leniency in so-called ‘honor crimes’, and the recent reform of the Personal Status Law, which raised the minimum age of marriage to 18 for both sexes.
Offering her support and expertise in the field of human rights to enhance Kuwait’s efforts on safeguarding the rights of women and girls, the special rapporteur encouraged the government to build on this progress achieved so far, by implementing further reforms aimed at combating all forms of violence against women and girls, including sexual harassment and digital violence.
On the matter of ongoing revisions to the Personal Status Law, Al-Salem said there were a few elements in the current personal status law, such as in relation to marriage and divorce, where women and men are still not considered equal. She added, “I understand that some of the personal status laws are based on religious laws, but I have no doubt that the country is very invested in amending its laws to be in line with its human rights commitments and international standards”.
Al-Salem listed many initiatives introduced by Kuwait with regard to women’s rights that are having a positive impact. These included, among others: Ensuring women and men receive equal pay for work; achieving significant progress in eliminating violence against women; enacting the Domestic Violence Law, which is considered an important shift in the legal field; reforming the penal code to treat honor crimes as murders; and raising the marriage age to 18 years for both sexes.
Al-Salem also pointed to the plight of domestic workers and migrant women, who continue to remain highly vulnerable despite protections accorded to them under the Domestic Workers Law of 2015. While welcoming the recent measures introduced by the government, which allow for temporary sector transfers, she noted that the impact from these measures remain limited in view of lax enforcement and limited oversight of work conditions.
“Laws are only as good as they are implemented, so while it is great to see that progress is being made in designing new laws and amending existing ones, the critical thing is the progress being made in implementing these laws, and putting in place better mechanisms to implement them. I know that this will take a bit of time, but if the political will is there, then we are already halfway through,” said Al-Salem.
She added, “Moreover, despite the substantial legal progress made, it remains imperative to review and amend the current institutional architecture for preventing and responding to discrimination and violence in order to effectively address gaps in implementation and enforcement. In this regard, priority must be given to continuing to focus on survivors of violence.
“Survivor-focused services are important to create better conditions for them to come forward and seek justice, protection, and support. This can be achieved by strengthening the partnership between authorities and civil society. Al-Salem also pointed out that some non-Kuwaiti women and girls residing in the country illegally or unlawfully may face continued challenges in accessing services, assistance, protection, and justice,” noted the special rapporteur.
Al-Salem also expressed her hope that the legal frameworks for addressing digital violence against women and girls will be improved, given that, as women, they are particularly vulnerable to online harm. She also revealed a recommendation to establish an independent entity on women’s issues, a specific department within the Ministry of Social Affairs, or a higher council for women under the Cabinet.”
Commending Kuwait’s openness to engaging with human rights mechanisms, Al-Salem said that the doors to Kuwaiti officials were wide open to her during the visit. She also highlighted the excellent cooperation provided by the Kuwaiti government, particularly the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and emphasized that Kuwait’s openness and transparency are worthy of emulation by other states.
Praising the solidarity and humanity of Kuwait at a time when funding for humanitarian work is declining worldwide. Al-Salem pointed out that her visit coincides with the 11th anniversary of the United Nations’ designation of Kuwait as an international humanitarian center. She also explained that although her visit had been planned since the end of 2023, other priorities had delayed her visit.
Turning to the mechanism of work of special rapporteurs, she explained that Special Rapporteurs are independent experts in the field of human rights appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. These experts are collectively referred to as ‘Special Rapporteurs of the Human Rights Council’. They work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN employees and do not receive remuneration for their work.”
She added that while the UN Human Rights Office serves as the secretariat for the Special Rapporteurs, these experts work in their personal capacity, independent of any government or organization, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations.
Elaborating on the report to be drafted following her visit to Kuwait, Al-Salem stated that she would submit her full report on her visit to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2026, and that the report will also be public, so that everyone in Kuwait can read and use it, “For example, Civil Society Organizations can use the report to convince the authorities that the recommendations are objective, impartial, relevant, and productive as they are made by independent experts, and that it would be to Kuwait’s benefit to implement the recommendation.”
