Kuwaiti women are angry after the military, having allowed female soldiers in combat roles, decided they need the permission of a male guardian and banned them from carrying weapons.
Kuwaiti women are angry after the military, having allowed female soldiers in combat roles, decided they need the permission of a male guardian and banned them from carrying weapons.
Women’s rights advocates have decried the policy as “one step forward, two steps back” after the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense also decided that women in the armed forces, unlike civilians, must wear head coverings.
The moves have sparked an online backlash in Kuwait, usually regarded as one of the most open societies in the Persian Gulf.
“I don’t know why there are these restrictions to join the army,” said Ghadeer al-Khashti, a sports teacher