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Monday, June 20

3ajabi !

I’m so pissed off; I can’t believe that while we are priding ourselves for having a women minister, our laws and regulations still consider women as a second degree citizen.
Today I went to one of the service centers to renew my passport, I had to wait for an hour and then they informed me that I had to have a male guardian present; either a husband of father or brother, when I tried to protest, they told me it’s the law, and by law a Kuwaiti woman can’t travel without the permission of her male guardian.

At 16 I have gone across the seas all on my own and now at my age I need a male guardian to renew my passport? I mean WTF

I wonder when Dr. Almobark issues a ministerial decree; would she need to have her husband as a cosigner?

Posted by AyyA:: at :: 2:34 PM::

9 Comments:

Blogger Jewaira said...

We have a long way to go yet, Ruby. I'm sorry you had to go through that. So frustrating that simple things can't be done more efficiently.

4:21 PM  
Blogger AyyA said...

Bo jaij
Apparently it’s getting worse.

ShQ8eya
The lady at the desk tried to help but apparently couldn’t, then my brother talked to a high official whom later apologized that they could not do anything about it, he said that last year a lawyer had submitted a case against some officials who had renewed his wife’s passport and that she had traveled against his wish, and that they have strict orders not to repeat the same. So I’m assuming that a law like this does exist in Kuwait. And when I asked him: then how come women travel alone without being asked for the so called permission, he said that the passport controllers at the border have the authority to stop any women from traveling if they asked her for the permission and she did not present it, but they usually don’t do that

Jewaira
Although I do not believe in this as a principle; I had to ask my male guardian to go tomorrow to pick my renewed passport, and mind you, my presence they said was not necessary although it’s my passport. . I really can’t believe this.

5:35 PM  
Blogger forzaq8 said...

hmm thats strange , i have never heard of things like that , i do know you need guardian if you are under 21

and that permission thing is also new , how can they check if its offical or not ? in saudi arabia ( which has that system for boys under 18 and women of all ages ) there is an offical papar that fahter have to get from the MOI

but we don't have anything like it in kuwait ( as i know )

6:38 PM  
Blogger forzaq8 said...

oh yeah i forgot , the husbad can ask for a 24 hour travel ban , anymore and it a case at court

6:39 PM  
Blogger AyyA said...

Guys,
I just had a discussion with a friend who is a lawyer and he told me that this guy is bluffing, I needed my husbands presence only because his name is still on my passport, and according to the law I’m still under his custody and he has to sign an approval for the renewal, and that no one has the right to stop me from traveling so long that my name is not listed on their computer which also has to be issued by court. In other words my husband can stop me from leaving the country only by court, and I still don’t think that this is fair. As a citizen I have the right to renew my passport whether my husband approves or doesn’t and I also have the right to travel so long I’m not held for a serious case. In any case, what happens between families has nothing to do with my rights as a citizen.

8:15 PM  
Blogger أبو جيج يدور نعاله said...

Other than Mneera 3ashoor's make up..is there anything right in this country?

Disgusting...why in the hell do they even put the name of the husband on the passport in the first place?!

Is that the proof of purchase?!!

8:58 PM  
Blogger Zaydoun said...

Wooohooo!!! Ruby is in Al-Qabas this morning!!

Bu Rakan just quoted this post!

8:51 AM  
Blogger Shurouq said...

I'm just her to double Zaydoun's WooHoo..
Just read the paper :D

And this passport thing is frustrating, but not surprising.

Isn't it also true that a divorcee must have her ex-husband's name on her passport?

10:34 AM  
Blogger Jewaira said...

BoraBora
You can't be serious! That is the ultimate form of humiliation :(

11:10 AM  

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