Riyah and Awtaad: Mercy for Kuwaiti Daughters
I received calls from Kuwaiti women by origin who reported that their non-Kuwaiti husbands had passed away. They had previously obtained Kuwaiti citizenship or Kuwaiti treatment for their children in accordance with the law, but this treatment was recently revoked from their children. The first woman said, “I went to collect my food rations and found that my son’s and daughter’s names had been crossed out; only my name and the names of the domestic workers remained.” The second woman said, “My son took his children to the clinic, but they told him he had to pay the review fee for the clinic and hospital because he and his children are no longer considered Kuwaiti, and their Kuwaiti treatment status was canceled.” The third woman said, “My son has a scholarship and is studying medicine in Malta. He received a letter suspending his scholarship, and my financial situation does not allow me to cover his education expenses.” All of them stated, “We are Kuwaiti women by origin. Do we not have any right to our homeland at all? We are not speaking about citizenship, as other countries do, but do our Kuwaiti genes and blood not flow in the veins of our orphaned children, thereby transferring some of our Kuwaiti rights to them? Are food rations, healthcare, and education not basic human rights, especially for those whose mothers are Kuwaiti women by origin? It should be noted that there is no Kuwaiti law prohibiting the granting of these rights through government decisions, and most countries around the world provide assistance and educational scholarships to non-citizens under certain regulations... Did our Prophet (peace be upon him) not say, ‘Women are the sisters of men’? Even our property, such as houses, which God decreed in the Quran should be inherited by them after our death, we have heard will not be registered in their names, and they must dispose of them within a specific period.”
In the noble Prophetic biography, a delegation came to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and he asked them, “Is there anyone among you who is not from your own people?” They replied, “No, except the son of our sister.” The Prophet said, “The son of a sister is considered one of them.” This hadith is recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim. It is worth noting that Kuwaiti charity and aid have reached most countries around the world, so why has it stopped for the children of Kuwaiti women? There is a fear that these decisions may create an unfavorable impression of humanitarian Kuwait in international human rights forums.
The conversation of these Kuwaiti sisters is filled with pain and bitterness. They say, “Our children were born and raised in Kuwait and have been orphans since childhood. They have known no country other than their mother’s homeland, which they consider their own. They lived for a long time enjoying all the Kuwaiti benefits they were granted by law. Then came these sudden changes, and these benefits were revoked from them. They accepted all the change procedures, but the impact of these changes has been different for the mothers, who feel that their legitimate and constitutional rights have been diminished. They also feel unequal when comparing their situation to men who marry foreign women.”
The complaining sisters are astonished by the silence that has fallen over women’s rights activists, who made a great fuss and did not rest until women’s right to vote and run for the National Assembly was achieved. Why are they silent today on this more important issue, which affects the life and livelihood of Kuwaiti mothers and their children?
There may be many differences of opinion among us regarding the naturalization of Kuwaiti women’s children and women’s right to run for parliamentary councils. However, I believe that the issue of the livelihood and education of the children of our Kuwaiti sisters, whose fathers have passed away, is an important, humanitarian, and legitimate matter. It should be reconsidered, as these children did not come entirely from abroad; they have a genuine connection to Kuwait through their Kuwaiti mothers by origin.
