by Anonymous Author
Once lauded as a pioneer of social democracy and progressive ideals, Kuwait has
embarked on a sweeping program of citizenship revocations. Alarming not only
for its scale but also its discriminatory execution, as this program has
disproportionately affected Kuwaiti women. Most notably, the wives of Kuwaiti
men who were lawfully naturalised as citizens.
In December 2024, amendments to Kuwait’s Nationality Law meant women
married to Kuwaiti men are no longer eligible for naturalisation, regardless of
whether their husbands were born Kuwaiti or were naturalised themselves.
Through retrospective application of this amendment over
47,000 people, predominantly Kuwaiti women, have had their citizenship revoked.
As these women were required to renounce their original citizenship at the time
of naturalisation, many of have now become stateless, unable to reclaim the
original citizenship they once surrendered in good faith. But under the false
guise of anti-corruption reform, Kuwait’s sweeping de-nationalisation campaign
reveals far more about Kuwait’s uncertain future. Raising urgent questions
about human rights, statelessness, and gender-based discrimination.
Kuwait’s Nationality Law
In 1959 Kuwait’s Nationality Law provided the legal
framework for citizenship, beyond those eligible since its enactment or being
born to Kuwaiti fathers. Through this law, non-Kuwaitis could acquire
citizenship through legitimate channels which included marriage.
Previously, under Article 8 of Kuwait’s Nationality Law, wives of Kuwaitis
could apply for citizenship by notifying the Ministry of Interior, which would
issue a nationality certificate if the marriage lasted five years from the date
of notice. Since Kuwait’s liberation from Iraqi occupation in 1991, women
married to Kuwaiti men grew to account for the single largest group of
naturalised citizens.
Article 9 contains a safeguard so that a woman will not lose Kuwaiti
nationality if her marriage comes to an end, unless she regains her original
nationality or she obtains another nationality. No such safeguard exists where
nationality is revoked in other circumstances.
Article 13 of Kuwait's Nationality Law outlines the preconditions for revoking
citizenship which largely focuses on cases of fraud, criminal convictions, and
perceived threats to national security.
Not only has retroactive application violated Constitutional protections under
Article 32, but this has also consigned tens of thousands of
naturalised wives, divorcees, and widows to either interim or permanent
statelessness.
Widespread Revocation Campaign
What initially began as efforts to tackle forgery,
corruption and fraud quickly devolved into a widespread campaign that
systematically targets naturalised Kuwaiti women. Between 2011 and August 2024,
the number of revocations issued averaged at roughly 788 per year. However, over the
past 7 months alone authorities have issued revocations at a staggering rate approximately
15 times higher than the past 13 years.
The revocation programme is led by the Supreme Committee to Investigate Kuwaiti
Citizenship. Chaired by the Minister of Interior, Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Al-Sabah,
the Supreme Committee also includes high-ranking government figures such as the
Minister of State for Council of Ministers’ Affairs, Minister of Foreign
Affairs, and the General-Secretary of the Council of Ministers.
The Supreme Committee has not publicly disclosed any criteria for identifying
individuals subject to the revocation process. There appears to be no semblance
of due process involved, as no notice is given to inform individuals their
nationality is under review. There is no opportunity to make representations to
the Supreme Committee or its representatives at any stage in the process. Worst
of all, affected individuals are only made aware when the Kuwait Gazette
publishes a decree, issued by Kuwait’s Amir, that includes their names in the
latest nationality revocations list.
Any path for judicial recourse has also been suspended. As of December 2024,
the Minister of Justice issued a new directive under Administrative Circular
no.23 of 2024, that requires proof of citizenship to file a lawsuit in any
Kuwaiti court. This appears to be designed specifically to prevent affected
Kuwaitis, mostly women, from seeking access to the Kuwaiti judicial system or
challenge the legality of their revocation.
Although in February 2025, the Kuwaiti Council of Ministers approved
the establishment of a grievance committee to ‘oversee cases of nationality
withdrawal and revocation’. But beyond its announcement, no additional
information has been provided on the committee's mandate, eligibility criteria,
or instructions on how to access it.
Consequences of Revocations
Once revocations are issued, documents like passports and
national identification cards are immediately invalidated. It has been reported
that immigration officials are seizing the passports of affected individuals if
they seek to leave the country or upon their return. As a consequence, women
are trapped, either within or outside Kuwait depending upon their location at
the time of revocation. There have been plenty of instances where women were
left stranded outside of Kuwait, separated from their families.
Although the Minister of Interior issued a statement in November 2024,
reassuring women who have had their nationality rescinded that they would not
lose their jobs or benefits. It has been reported that the Ministry of Social Affairs stopped
issuing salaries to female employees who have been subject to the revocation
process.
Meanwhile, the Public Institution for Social Security stated on 9 December 2024 that pension payments due to
be made the following day would not be issued to retirees whose nationality had
been revoked, as there is no legislation permitting this.
Bank accounts of disenfranchised women are frozen while all social insurance payments are also
stopped. For women who own businesses, their files in the Public Authority for
Manpower are suspended.
According to recent reports, Kuwait Credit Bank has been asked by the Ministry of Electricity, Water and
Renewable Energy to prevent any property disposals by individuals whose
nationality has been revoked until they have settled outstanding utilities
charges .
Worryingly, restrictions also extend to essential services including
healthcare. As hospitals and medical staff are now required to verify national
identification cards prior to admitting patients to any public healthcare
facility. A Kuwaiti woman recently appealed to
leaders via social media to permit her cancer-diagnosed mother to travel abroad
for chemotherapy, after being stripped of her nationality.
A Pattern of Repression
Kuwait’s democratic regression began when the newly sworn
Amir, Shaikh Mishaal Al Ahmad Al-Sabah, dissolved Parliament and suspended crucial
Constitutional articles under the guise of national security, in May 2024.
Supporters praised the move, arguing in favour of a parliamentary pause to
address systemic issues ranging from corruption and administrative issues to
infrastructure reform. This was viewed as a means to accelerate economic
growth, particularly as Kuwait continues to lag behind GCC counterparts like
the UAE and Qatar, despite comparable oil resources and wealth.
Critics, however, suspected a more nefarious context. The Emir, with his
background in Kuwait’s national security apparatus, had little patience for
democracy and the distribution of power beyond the ruling Al-Sabah clan. Over a
decade before Shaikh Mishaal ascended to power, a leading Kuwaiti
journalist captured his disdain for Kuwait’s constitutional
democracy in what many now consider a prescient article.
Shortly after, the Minister of Interior launched a campaign of arrests targeting political opponents and government
critics. Despite Constitutional protections for free speech, those detained
include critics of the Amir such as Anwar Hayati, Mohammad al-Bargash and
Abdullah Fairouz. This also extends to former members of parliament such as
Waleed al Tabtabaei and Musaed al Quraifa.
Through its indiscriminate scope, the denationalisation campaign has forged a
rare moment of national solidarity among Kuwaitis who would otherwise coalesce
around ethnic and tribal affiliations.
Former Kuwaiti MP, Saleh Al-Mulla, has been among the vocal critics who
recently denounced the revocation campaign via social media in January,
where he said: “Naturalised women include the wives and mothers of Kuwaitis.
What is happening to them every week is shameful. Women are anxiously waiting
for their names to appear in the official gazette as if they are criminals. We
will not accept this.”
The backlash took Kuwait’s leadership by surprise. But the scale of criticism
has seemingly emboldened the Supreme Committee’s resolve to carry
out its agenda.
In November 2024, popular Kuwaiti social media personality, Lulwa
Al Husainan, posted a video that criticised the Minister of Interior,
Shaikh Fahad Al Yousuf, for publicly mocking disenfranchised women. She was
then summoned by Kuwait’s National Security Agency (NSA) where, she alleged,
the Minister himself had assaulted her at a detention centre where she was held
in custody.
Popular Kuwaiti journalists, such as Hassan Al Essa and Mohammed Al Saqer, have
also been warned against publishing critical articles around the cancellation
of citizenships.
While former member of parliament, Muhannad
Al Sayer, was detained by Kuwait’s NSA in January after posting a video on
social media in which he demanded the government cease its revocation of
citizenships. Reports have also surfaced that the government’s most vocal
critic, Saleh Al
Mulla, was also summoned to the NSA.
Despite the wave of repression, even the government's inner circle of advisors
has begun to voice deepening concerns.
In December, Ambassador Abdulla Bishara, the former Secretary-General of the
Gulf Cooperation Council, and one of Kuwait’s leading foreign policy advisors,
wrote an article warning
that Kuwait’s revocation policy could undermine its moral standing. In which he
emphasised: “I register these concerns because I am a participant and witness
to Kuwait's history in international organizations and I defended Kuwait’s
lofty values and its inherent faith in the principles enshrined in the UN
Charter.”
Similar sentiments have emerged from within the Al Sabah family itself, with
Shaikh Ali Jabir Al Ali Al Sabah being the most vocal critic of the
government’s program.
An Uncertain Future
Few Kuwaitis are hopeful that the Amir, now 84 years old,
will change course, or that he places any value on how history records his
legacy. As leaders run out of opportunities to scapegoat Parliament, it is
important to remember the social contract that all Kuwaitis are bound to.
In October 1991, just two months into Iraq's occupation, the exiled Kuwaiti
government held a conference in Jeddah where 1,200 Kuwaitis came together in
moment of national unity. Opposition leaders argued that reform and liberation
must go hand in hand. They called for the restoration of the 1962 Constitution
and the 1986 National Assembly, the same institutions now under threat.
The conference issued a final communiqué that affirmed the political
leadership of the Al-Sabah family, with a vital caveat: Kuwaiti society
post-liberation should be based on " national unity and legitimate systems
that we have chosen and accepted, strengthened by consultation, democracy and
popular participation and guided by our 1962 Constitution."
Regardless of whether the government alters its course, time is running out on
efforts to shield these transgressions from the unforgiving gaze of global
criticism. But when the veil inevitably drops, this will be seen as a historic
betrayal to Kuwait’s hard-won freedom and the profound sacrifices upon which
its democratic vision was built.
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