Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Fiftieth session

Summary record of the 1012th meeting

Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on Thursday, 13 October 2011, at 3 p.m.

Chairperson:Ms. Pimentel

Contents

Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention (continued)

Combined third and fourth periodic reports of Kuwait (continued)

The meeting was called to order at 3.05 p.m.

Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention (continued)

Combined third and fourth periodic reports of Kuwait(continued)(CEDAW/C/KWT/3-4; CEDAW/C/KWT/Q/3-4 and Add.1)

At the invitation of the Chairperson, the delegation of Kuwait took places at the Committee table.

Articles 7 to 9 (continued)

Mr. Razzooqi (Kuwait), responding to a question asked at the previous meeting about efforts to ensure equal representation of women in government and international organizations, said that Kuwait had enacted legislation, issued declarations, disseminated relevant information and shown its commitment to equal representation of women through its membership in relevant bodies. Furthermore, those steps had produced tangible results. The current challenge was to widen the scope of women’s occupational activity.

Ms. Altararwa (Kuwait) said that there was across-the-board participation by women, including in professions that had previously been reserved for men. The number of women employed overall was low but increasing.

Ms. Alqadi (Kuwait) said that 12 of her country’s 71 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were women’s organizations. Though small, those NGOs were active in lobbying to enhance women’s political rights. Women had headed 28 professional unions and were very active in their administration. The parliamentary Women’s Affairs Committee had asked representatives of women’s organizations to attend parliamentary sessions and provide feedback regarding whether women’s issues were being addressed adequately.

Mr. Razzooqi (Kuwait) said that his delegation would provide additional statistics to the secretariat. While Kuwait did not have formal quotas for women’s participation, the Government occasionally took steps to increase the number of women in certain positions. For example, the Municipal Council currently consisted of 10 elected and 6 appointed members and, as it was difficult for women to be elected to that body, the Government had ensured that 4 of the appointed members were women.

Ms. Hayashi said that the State party had made remarkable progress since the previous constructive dialogue, especially with regard to women’s participation in politics. Regarding Kuwait’s reservation to article 9, paragraph 2, of the Convention, she asked whether there was any discussion of amending Nationality Act No. 15/1959, under which women could transmit their nationality to their children only if they were divorced from a non-Kuwaiti father. What were the prospects for withdrawal of the reservation? She also asked how the State party envisaged the role of newly elected women representatives in the National Assembly in relation to the amendment of the Nationality Act.

On the issue of statelessness, she said that persistent discrimination could result in successive generations of women and girls remaining stateless. According to information available to the Committee, there were currently 106,000 Bidu n or stateless persons in Kuwait. A Government directive of 2010 had authorized the issuance of birth certificates to children born of a Bidu n mother and a Kuwaiti father. In addition, the National Assembly’s legislative committee was proposing draft legislation to grant civil and social rights to such children. She asked whether the State party was disseminating information about the 2010 directive to the women concerned in their own languages. She also requested more information about the draft legislation.

Mr. Razzooqi (Kuwait) said that the draft legislation had been proposed by women representatives in the National Assembly. It was too early to say what shape the text would ultimately take.

Ms. Altararwa (Kuwait) said that, under the Nationality Act, women could confer their nationality on their children only under clearly specified conditions, with due regard for issues of national sovereignty. It was not clear whether the expert had meant to refer to women in general, to Bidu n women or to women present illegally in Kuwait.

Ms. Alnaser (Kuwait) said that recently several thousand birth certificates and nearly 200 death certificates had been issued for women who were illegal residents. Several thousand female illegal residents were attending school at the primary level, more than 10,000 at the secondary level, and a smaller number at the tertiary level.

Ms. Jahan requested clarification regarding the transmission of citizenship to a foreign spouse. Did the Nationality Act provide assurance of non-discriminatory and equal conditions for the acquisition of citizenship by foreign men and women married to Kuwaitis?

Mr. Razzooqi (Kuwait) said that he did not believe that any discrimination existed in that regard.

Articles 10 to 14

Ms. Popescu said that the inclusion of human rights education in school curricula was a positive development, as were efforts to reduce illiteracy and increase women’s participation in university-level education. She asked whether girls from migrant worker families had the same access to compulsory free education as Kuwaiti girls. She also asked to what degree the sexes were segregated in public schools and universities, given that Act No. 24 of 1996 stipulated that girls and boys must attend separate public educational establishments.

She asked whether married women were permitted to attend public school as day students. To what extent did girls have access to computers, the Internet and other modern technology? Was their access restricted in comparison with that of boys? Referring to the three projects listed in paragraph 33 of the replies to the list of issues (CEDAW/C/KWT/Q/3-4/Add.1), she wondered what the impact of those projects would be and whether it could result in discrimination between girls and boys.

Finally, she requested information about women holding positions of leadership in education – for example, numbers of female school principals, deans, rectors and holders of doctorates.

Mr. Bruun recalled that after the first constructive dialogue with the State party, held in 2004, the Committee had, in its concluding comments, expressed concern at the persistence of traditional stereotypes regarding women’s and men’s roles in society. While welcoming progress in that area and Labour (Non-governmental Sector) Act No. 6/2010, he noted with concern that the legislation did not prohibit direct or indirect sexual discrimination in the workplace.

Kuwait had ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111). Both that Convention and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women required States parties to implement legislation expressly prohibiting sexual discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. Kuwait had not ratified the ILO Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) and lacked legislation explicitly providing for equal pay for women and men for work of equal value. He asked when Kuwait planned to ratify ILO Convention No. 100 and enshrine the principle of equal pay in its legislation.

Noting that Kuwait’s workforce included a high proportion of non-Kuwaiti women, especially domestic workers, he said that, according to information available to the Committee, domestic workers in Kuwait experienced ethnic and gender discrimination and sexual abuse and harassment. They also appeared to have difficulty accessing justice, and no remedies were in place. How did Kuwait plan to improve the legal situation of such workers? Did it intend to accede to the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189)?

Ms. Murillo de la Vega, noting that women employed in the public sector enjoyed a wide range of rights, asked whether it was planned to grant the same rights to women working in the private sector. Were women required to obtain family authorization in order to work? Also, to what extent were women able to use the Internet in their work? What types of childcare arrangements were available for working women? Was social security coverage available to foreign workers, and if not, was the State party considering amending the relevant legislation so as to offer them that option?

Finally, given Kuwait’s level of economic development, should not more funding be provided for labour inspections?

Ms. Arocha Dominguez asked what steps the Government had taken since 2004 to eliminate discrimination in the area of health care. The report’s single paragraph on the subject referred to the population’s access to health care but contained just one sentence relating specifically to women – namely, on the building of new maternity clinics. She asked the State party to provide the Committee with comparative statistics on health-care provision for women and men.

Regarding access to health care for non-Kuwaiti women living in the country, the delegation had indicated at the previous meeting that female migrant workers in Kuwait were considered contractual workers, not residents. However, such workers must have access to health care. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Affairs and the Committee against Torture had, in concluding observations, expressed concern about women’s situation in Kuwait, referring to reports of cases where domestic migrant workers were kept in conditions bordering on slavery, malnourished and not given sufficient time to rest, practices that would affect their health. She asked the delegation to comment on the issue.

With regard to the issue of abortion, was there an administrative or other norm regulating doctors’ decision-making in situations where abortion was legally permitted? What steps were taken to ensure that decisions were not subjective? Furthermore, the list of circumstances in which abortion was permitted, as set out in paragraph 77 of the replies to the list of issues (CEDAW/C/KWT/Q/3-4/Add.1), did not include pregnancy resulting from rape or incest. Could the State party comment on that? She also requested more detailed information on the incidence of HIV/AIDS in Kuwait.

Ms. Rasekh asked what provision was made under Kuwait’s national health policy to ensure that girls and women with disabilities had adequate access to health-care facilities designed and equipped to meet their special needs. She wished to know if there was a law to protect disabled women against forced sterilization or abortion. What action had the State party taken on the recommendation made by the Committee at its thirtieth session that health-care providers should be sensitized to the issue of violence against women? Had health workers been trained to recognize and report cases of injury caused by domestic violence? She further enquired if there were any safeguards against women’s involuntary committal to psychiatric hospitals on the grounds that they had contravened the social norms. Were patients assessed on admission? Was it true that they could be kept in psychiatric units, even after they had recovered, unless a male relative came to collect them? Since by law the consent of a male relative was required before women could undergo major surgery, she was anxious to know what would happen if a woman had no male relative. Would the Government consider repealing that law which conflicted with many international instruments and which could, in some circumstances, endanger women’s lives?

Mr. Razzooqi (Kuwait) undertook to provide education statistics to the Committee. Female students outnumbered male students in all higher education establishments. For many years, the chancellor of one of Kuwait’s top universities had been a woman.

Mr. Alharbi (Kuwait) said that contract workers’ children could attend special government schools. Girls constituted a substantial percentage of the pupils in those schools. Adult education was available for married women. Many subjects on the curriculum could be studied by means of information and communications technology. Universal Serial Bus (USB) sticks containing syllabuses would be widely distributed. There was no gender discrimination in the education sector. Education for women and girls in Kuwait served to enable them to participate in the labour market and to impart sound moral values. Moreover, many senior officials in the Ministry of Education were women.

Ms. Alqadi (Kuwait) confirmed that gender segregation was still practised in universities although women had lobbied strongly to end it. Despite the fact that the National Assembly had rejected requests for desegregation, some lectures and tutorials were coeducational. Women held senior posts in academia; some faculties contained more women than men. In order to enable talented women to study abroad, their husbands were given financial support so that they could accompany them. The fact that more women held postgraduate qualifications than men showed that they were ambitious and prepared to specialize. Illogically, government schools were segregated, but private schools were coeducational. Parents therefore had some choice in the matter.

In Kuwait, as in any progressive society, the Internet was used not only for recreational purposes but also in education, to access research, to provide official data and to obtain information in general. To the best of her knowledge, use of the Internet was not having a negative impact.

Gender studies had been introduced at university level inter alia in the departments of political science, the arts and sociology. She hoped that knowledge of the role played by women in the past and the present would help to dispel stereotypes and offer a more realistic picture of women’s abilities.

Mr. Marafi (Kuwait) said that nationality could be transmitted to a spouse if an application was submitted to that end, but dual nationality was not permitted in Kuwait. A woman could apply for Kuwaiti nationality after she had been married to a Kuwaiti for five years. The qualifying period was shorter if she had a child, or if she was granted a special exemption by the Ministry of the Interior.

Mr. Razzooqi (Kuwait) explained that the qualifying period had been established to prevent marriage being used as a fraudulent means of gaining access to the numerous benefits to which Kuwaiti citizens were entitled.

Mr. Alsulaimi (Kuwait) said that Kuwait was fully committed to honouring its obligations under the international instruments to which it was a party, such as the ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111). The law on employment therefore banned discrimination against women and they received equal pay and protection.

The definition of “workers” in the Labour (Non-governmental Sector) Act No. 6/2010 applied to men and women alike. All the provisions of the Act governing wages and working conditions therefore covered men and women. All rights and entitlements under the Act were available equally to women and men. An employer could not terminate an employment contract on the grounds of gender, origin or religion. Equal pay had to be given for equal work, irrespective of gender. The Act included provisions on women’s right to maternity allowance and leave and time off for breastfeeding, and it stipulated that a firm with more than 50 female workers or more than 200 employees of either sex normally had to provide childcare facilities. It further provided protection against sexual harassment insofar as the victim could resign immediately on full pay and she could apply to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour to have her work permit transferred to another employer without having to obtain the first employer’s consent.

Kuwaiti legislation made no provision for social insurance for non-Kuwaiti employees. Since foreign workers did not enter the country with a view to permanent residence, there was no real need to extend social security coverage to them; once they stopped working they had to return to their country of origin.

Mr. Alenezi (Kuwait) said that, in cases of assault, domestic workers, like any other residents of Kuwait, could lodge a complaint with the competent authorities. A special unit had been set up within the Ministry of the Interior to process such complaints and could initiate criminal proceedings by referring the matter to the competent authorities. A shelter for victims of violence had been opened on the instructions of the Cabinet.

There was no specific legislation governing domestic labour. In 2010 a bill on that subject had been presented in the Human Rights Committee of the National Assembly. It had fallen short of aspirations with regard to the additional rights and freedoms to be granted to domestic workers. At all events, it had been decided not to consider the bill until the contents of the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) had been studied with a view to bringing any new law into line with the convention and with the characteristics of Kuwaiti society. It was, however, too early to say exactly when Kuwait would ratify the convention.

Ms. Altakit (Kuwait) said that health care was provided free or virtually free of charge for all female citizens and for the mothers and wives of Kuwaiti nationals. Foreigners had to have private medical insurance in order to have access to health services. Maternity health centres offered free care and treatment to all Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti women, including those who were illegal immigrants. Children were treated free of charge.

Accident-prevention campaigns were conducted by health-care centres. Emergency services were provided free of charge to all women living in Kuwait. Non-Kuwaiti nationals underwent a medical check-up on entering the country. A woman’s parents or relatives had to consent to that examination. In their absence, it could be authorized by a consultant doctor. The consent of a woman’s male relative was not required for an emergency abortion if the woman’s life or health was in danger.

Of the 160 registered cases of HIV/AIDS in Kuwait, 41 were women. About 30 of them were receiving treatment. Any non-Kuwaiti who was found to be seropositive would be sent back to their country of origin. Before marriage, both prospective spouses had to undergo a medical examination to ensure that they were free from sexually transmissible diseases. A few couples had decided not to get married as a result of the findings of the examination.

Protecting the life of the unborn child was the prime consideration in Kuwait. For that reason, abortions were allowed only on strictly medical grounds and there were restrictions on in vitro fertilization, in order to limit the possibility of the child being deformed or disabled. Similarly there were restrictions on the use of treatment which led to multiple pregnancies. No more than three foetuses could be implanted.

No penalties would be imposed for abortion if a prior medical examination had shown that it was vital in order to save a woman’s life. Abortions could be performed when a foetus was disabled but viable, if it was considered that bringing the pregnancy to term could damage a woman’s health. The opinion of five specialists was required before that decision could be taken. Disabled women, irrespective of whether they were Kuwaiti nationals, were entitled to free hospital treatment.

Women employees were entitled to leave of absence to care for a disabled relative. A pregnant disabled woman could take leave on full pay. Reception centres for the disabled were run by competent medical staff who could provide specialist care. There was no compulsory sterilization of disabled women. The law protected them from the cradle to the grave. They could call on special services such as translators, or guides for the visually impaired. Health, maternity and childcare centres provided a wealth of information on genetic health.

Persons living with disabilities were allowed to marry, although that was a rare occurrence.

Ms. Alqadi (Kuwait) said that the Ministry of Health and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had launched an HIV/AIDS awareness programme which would be conducted in schools and through the media.

An extensive breast cancer screening programme had been in existence for 10 years. An awareness of maternal health and preventive medicine had been created and an increasing number of NGOs were participating in the relevant programmes. Kuwait also had a number of childcare societies, including one for children with Down’s syndrome and another for autistic children. A palliative heath-care programme was due to be launched shortly.

Ms. Altakit (Kuwait) said that other awareness-raising programmes highlighting health issues targeted schoolchildren and students. The Waqf Fund for Health Development provided young girls and women with free guidance and advice on sexual health. Associations and Ministry of Health doctors held seminars on preventing violence. They also provided psychological counselling and advice on child-rearing. In addition, medical and social associations ran programmes aimed at the prevention of breast and cervical cancer. Some complaint centres were in operation and there was a telephone hotline, advertised in all national newspapers, which women could call in complete confidence to report violence.

Mr. Razzooqi (Kuwait) said that the health programme was so expensive that the Government was thinking of reforming it and introducing a universal social security scheme.

Ms. Rasekh pointed out that she had received no answers to her questions regarding the training of health-care workers to report cases of domestic violence, involuntary committal to psychiatric hospitals and legislation which prevented women from undergoing surgery without the consent of a male relative.

Mr. Razzooqi (Kuwait) said that doctors had to report any cases of injuries caused by domestic violence to the police who immediately informed the Ministry of the Interior.

Ms. Altakit (Kuwait) said that plans were in place to train medical staff to handle cases of domestic violence. The committees to protect women’s rights which had been established by ministerial decision had been expanded to include women who had been well trained in the legal and medical aspects of domestic violence. Those committees were required to submit reports of rights violations within 24 hours to the competent authorities and to investigate cases. A significant number of workshops had been held. Duplicate reports were sometimes sent to the law enforcement authorities and to the legal department of the Ministry of Health in order to expedite the reporting process. No signature from a male relative was needed if a woman required an urgent operation. If the operation was not urgent and there was no male relative available to give consent, the opinion of two doctors or of the hospital director would suffice.

Women were admitted to a psychiatric hospital only if they were suffering from a serious mental disorder. They underwent a medical examination as soon as they were admitted. Once they had been successfully treated, their family would be asked to take them home. The scarcity of beds in such hospitals meant that no one who had recovered would be kept there.

Mr. Razzooqi (Kuwait) said that in each hospital there was an investigation officer who must report each case of injury due to violence to the Ministry of the Interior or to the legal department of the Ministry of Health, so that action could be taken.

Articles 15 and 16

Ms. Halperin-Kaddari said that other Muslim countries in the same region as Kuwait had already undertaken a comprehensive review of their legislation in order to remove provisions that discriminated against women. Kuwait had made reservations only to article 9, paragraph 2, and article 16, paragraph 1 (f), of the Convention, although it applied the most extreme interpretation of sharia law with regard to the rights set forth in the other paragraphs of the latter article. She therefore wished to know if the Government intended to amend its law to remove the provisions concerning guardianshipthat applied to Sunni women.

The requirement of written consent from a male relative for a woman to receive medical treatment directly conflicted with article 15 of the Convention. Since Kuwait had not entered a reservation to that article, she asked if the Government intended to abolish that requirement.

She wished to know what steps the Government had taken to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 years (from 15 for girls and 17 for boys), in line with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 21.

She requested clarification on the contradiction between the provisions governing child custody contained in the Personal Status Act, which appeared to relate to the physical custody of the child, and the provisions on legal custody and guardianship of the child in matters relating to education and property, as contained in the Personal Status Act and the Civil Code, given that legal custody was invariably awarded to the father or to a male relative of the father and not to the mother.

Lastly, she asked whether polygamy was still permitted without restriction in the State party and whether it was true that the first wife in a polygamous marriage could not cite polygamy as grounds for divorce unless her marriage contract contained a clause to that effect.

Ms. Rasekh requested clarification on the discriminatory provisions contained in the Personal Status Act and the Criminal Code, which allowed men to divorce their first wife or take a second wife should the first wife decide to stop having children. Had the Government considered amending those provisions?

Noting with concern that the Criminal Code prescribed a penalty of up to 3 years’ imprisonment for a man who killed his wife after having surprised her in the act of adultery, whereas a woman who killed her husband under similar circumstances was liable to the death penalty, she urged the State party to amend that discriminatory legislation, which was in violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and international norms.

Ms. Acar asked whether the premarital medical examination was obligatory for both men and women and whether it included a gynaecological examination or virginity test in the case of the latter.

Mr. Alansari (Kuwait) said that the Kuwaiti Constitution provided that all citizens were equal before the law and that there was therefore no distinction or discrimination between men and women with regard to civil capacity. The Civil Code stipulated that the minimum legal age for marriage was 15 for girls and 17 for boys.

Mr. Alsaana (Kuwait) said that the penalties prescribed for adultery in the Criminal Code were also subject to mitigating factors and could only be imposed when the crime could be proven. Therefore, they were seldom imposed in practice.

Mr. Almutairi (Kuwait) said that, in the light of the fact that Kuwaiti law drew on the principles of Islamic law, which governed all matters relating to personal status, marriage, divorce and inheritance, the legal provisions pertaining thereto could not be amended. Muslims were expected to abide by those principles.

Under the Personal Status Act, both spouses could seek a divorce before the courts, including on grounds of polygamy. The courts took the circumstances of each case into account in determining whether any injury had been caused. In cases where injury had been caused, there were clear provisions for resolving financial issues relating to the case; where no injury had been caused, that task was left to the discretion of the courts.

Ms. Altararwa (Kuwait) said that both men and women underwent the same premarital examination, which focused on disease detection but did not involve a virginity test in the case of women. After the compulsory premarital examination, marriage was optional. A woman had to agree to marry and in the event of marriage taking place without her consent, she was entitled to seek a divorce before the courts.

Mr. Razzooqi (Kuwait) said that, although marriage in Kuwait was subject to certain regulations under Islamic law, Kuwaiti society was gradually embracing the modern world. That process of change was most apparent among the younger generation of Kuwaitis, as was demonstrated by a low marriage rate and parents electing to have fewer children in order to guarantee them a better quality of life.

Ms. Rasekh reiterated her concern at the discriminatory provisions of the Criminal Code, which appeared to prescribe a much lighter penalty for a man who surprised and killed his spouse in the act of adultery than for a woman. Notwithstanding the welcome process of change in social attitudes, as long as the aforementioned legislation remained in force, it would be regarded as a licence to kill by individuals resisting such change.

Furthermore, she repeated her request for additional information on the apparent lack of legal protection for a woman who decided to stop having children, whose husband was allowed by law to divorce her or enter into a second, polygamous marriage.

Ms. Halperin-Kaddari asked whether the Government was planning to reconsider the requirement that Sunni women who wished to marry should have a guardian (wali), especially in the light of the changes in Sunni Islamic law in other countries in the region. Secondly, she wished to know whether legal custody of a child was invariably awarded to the father or a male relative of the father.

Lastly, noting the high percentage of women in law school, she enquired whether they received training in Islamic law, and whether there were any women pleaders or judges in sharia courts.

Ms. Gabr said that statistics should be provided on the incidence of polygamy in Kuwait, so as to enable the Committee to better evaluate the situation. Honour crimes remained a rare occurrence in the State party, but the continued inclusion of penalties therefor in the Criminal Code could lead potential perpetrators to draw the wrong conclusions about the punishment they might face. She hoped, therefore, that the law could be amended accordingly.

She asked the State party to confirm whether female minors required parental consent to undergo a surgical operation and whether adult females could undergo surgery without the consent of their husband or male guardian.

Lastly, she wished to know whether the courts could grant a Shiite woman permission to marry irrespective of whether her guardian agreed to the marriage.

Mr. Razzooqi (Kuwait) said that honour crimes were different from other types of crime because, in the case of the latter, the relevant legal provisions could be directly and unequivocally applied. The question raised had more to do with the definition of honour crime, which had been discussed in great detail in Kuwait.

The question of female judges was the subject of an ongoing debate. The decision to employ a female judge had to be approved not only at the executive and legislative levels but by the high council of courts. Kuwait had expressed its readiness to move forward in that regard in the context of the universal periodic review.

Mr. Alsaana (Kuwait), returning to the issue of honour crimes, said that the Criminal Code prescribed life imprisonment for premeditated murder. The penalties prescribed for manslaughter or murder that was not premeditated were the same for both men and women. A woman who murdered her husband without premeditation was liable to 3 years in prison and a fine. The same penalties applied to sisters and wives.

Ms. Altararwa (Kuwait) said that, under the provisions governing marriage guardianship, the guardian (wali), who was usually the father of the bride, could supervise the marriage arrangements, but the marriage contract could not be concluded without the woman’s consent. Should the father of the bride object to the marriage, he was replaced by the judge in the task of concluding the contract. Under sharia and by law, a woman was entitled to have her marriage annulled provided that she gave up her financial entitlements when the marriage was brought to an end.

Mr. Razzooqi (Kuwait) thanked the Committee members and all of those who had contributed to the constructive dialogue. His Government would give due consideration to the comments and recommendations of the experts and would do everything in its power to improve its implementation of the Convention.

The Chairperson thanked the delegation for having engaged in a fruitful dialogue with the Committee, which had provided further insight into the situation of women in Kuwait. She encouraged the State party to take all necessary measures to address the various concerns of the Committee in order to ensure full compliance with the provisions of the Convention.

The meeting rose at 5.15 p.m.