Kuwait Army Allows Women in Combat Roles But Without Guns

Kuwait Army Allows Women in Combat Roles But Without Guns
Kuwait allows women in combat roles but without guns. Kuwaiti women are angry after the military, havingallowed female soldiers in combat roles sometimes back, decided in February 2022 that they need the permission of a male guardian and banned them from carrying weapons.
Activists have decried the policy as “one step forward, two steps back” after the defence ministry 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 Gulf.
“I don’t know why there are these restrictions to join the army,” Ghadeer al-Khashti, a sports teacher and mem ber of Kuwait Football Association’s Women Committee said. “We have all kinds of women working in all fields, including the police force.”
The ministry had decided in October 2021 to allow women in combat roles but then imposed the restrictions after the defence minister was questioned by conservative lawmaker Hamdan al-Azmi.
According to Hamdan al-Azmi women being in combat roles “does not fit with a woman’s nature.”
Only the future will tell whether the restrictions will remain or be lifted in view of the examples put by Israeli women soldiers handling weapons effectively.