Kuwait Revokes 37,000 Citizenships, Most Affected Are Womens

Kuwait City: The Gulf country Kuwait has taken a shocking step and revoked the citizenship of 37,000 people overnight. Most of them are women, who had acquired citizenship through marriage. Some have been living in Kuwait for more than 20 years. Many came to know about it when they reached for routine work. 50-year-old Lama (name changed) came to know about it during the weekly workout class, when her credit card payment was rejected. When she checked, her bank account was temporarily frozen because her nationality had been revoked.

Lama, a native of Jordan, told AFP that it was a shock to her. She requested not to use her real name for fear of the authorities. She said, 'After being a law-abiding citizen for more than 20 years, one day you wake up in the morning and find that you are no longer a citizen. This is not right at all.'

Step taken under the initiative of Sheikh Misal

This move of Kuwait is part of the reformist initiative of the regime led by Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. Its aim is to limit nationality to Kuwaiti blood relations and reshape Kuwaiti identity. Analysts say the citizenship policy aims to potentially reduce the electorate of the oil-rich country by limiting its nationality to blood relations. Emir Sheikh Meshaal dissolved parliament and suspended parts of the constitution five months after taking power in December 2023.

Citizenship of 26000 women taken away

At least 26,000 of the 37,000 people whose citizenship has been revoked in Kuwait are women. However, some media reports suggest that the actual number may be higher than this. Badal al-Saif, a professor of history at Kuwait University, said, while large-scale revocation of citizenship is not new in Kuwait, this number is certainly unprecedented.

Kuwait already has a stateless community of about 100,000 Bidoon people. The Bidoon are an Arab minority, who come from a nomadic tribe called Bedouin, who settled in Kuwait. When Kuwait became independent in 1961, the Bidoon people were not included as citizens. The new measure eliminates citizenship through marriage.