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Kuwait Law: We are all equal

rainbow

The fact I have to write this post is a disgrace! It’s embarrassing that as a lawyer I have to be preaching about essential human behavior instead of doing plain old legal work. People need to be more tolerant towards each other in Kuwait. I have hope that this attitude will change.

I always knew that being a lawyer wouldn’t be easy, the job requires you most of the time to deal with negative explosives. You know what they say, when the tough gets going, the tough gets a lawyer. I wasn’t expecting people to come to me with celebrations but everyday emails and emails flow into my inbox (and sometimes into my junk folder, I apologize) filled with words describing emotions, most of which is anger. Why? One word; inequality.

The Kuwaiti Constitution clearly states in Article 29 that we are all EQUAL
Article 29 [Equality, Human Dignity, Personal Liberty]
(1) All people are equal63 in human dignity and in public rights and duties before the law, without distinction to race, origin, language, or religion.
(2) Personal liberty is guaranteed.

None of us, none of you, no matter how rich or poor, fat or thin, tall or short, smart or dumb, want to be treated unfairly. Yet, in the emails, the employer isn’t respecting his employee, the parent isn’t tolerant of his gay child, house help are being tortured and turned into slaves, religious debates are nothing but aggressive personal attacks and expats are being told to f*** off.

Recently though I got an email from a homosexual young man. The way he is being treated by his environment is not acceptable so I decided to write about it in this post, not just for intolerant people in general in the hopes they will be more tolerant, but for all the homosexuals in Kuwait to understand that it is their choice.

Being homosexual is not illegal. Your thoughts are yours, no one can punish you for your identity. Who you prefer to be with is up to you. Now some acts, might be illegal, please check my two previous posts:

Kuwait Law: Sexual Crimes
Kuwait Law: Indecent Acts

And please before you go on to “accuse” me of being gay myself, if I was I would let you know, but I am into straight non-blonde tall men, from western (in it’s broad meaning) or/and south East Asian descent, preferably with a good sense of humor and an Irish accent! And yes I am a female (so please, I beg you please, stop emailing me with Dear Mr. Fajer)

Just remember, if it wasn’t for your employees your company wouldn’t function, if it wasn’t for your house help you wouldn’t have a clean home and a hot meal. Just remember, your son did not chose to be gay. Your religion doesn’t make you a good or bad person, your actions do and all religions are lovely in one way or another.

So be tolerant and be patient with each other, for your sake and for your communities’ sake. You never know when you will be sick and you will need that Jewish doctor, you will get into legal trouble and need that homosexual lawyer, or your child will need that atheist teacher.

Feel free to email me [email protected] with any legal questions. I do not have the capacity to answer everyone for free (but I try), and I am happy to annanounce that I am currently working with a great team and therefore we are able to reply back to all emails with a reasonable time frame.

Post by Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel
The legal opinions expressed in this post are those of the author Fajer. Opinions expressed by Mark or any other writer on mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com are those of the individual’s and in no way reflect Fajer’s opinion.

189 replies on “Kuwait Law: We are all equal”

Kudos for making such a valid point. You’d think this is a point you wouldn’t have to make, but unfortunately many people don’t seem to understand that you don’t have to agree with someone’s sexuality, political affiliation or point of view to still treat them with the same respect everyone else deserves.

Even in america Gays are not treated as equal in schools or anywhere, they are always bullied or made fun off, no matter how many laws lawyers will make gays will still be disgusting and against the nature, its a losing battle that gays will never win, no one cares what you do in your room but don’t discuss us in public and make us vomit.

As a Kuwaiti saying “your son didn’t chose to be gay” is a laughable statement because being gay is a choice and psychology wise a pedophile and a gay person are identical, they have abnormal behavior you think a pedo is lying to us? nope they made that choice and need treatment, if my son chose to be gay i simply kick him out and no longer wants to see him anymore, he wouldn’t exist in my life anymore or his siblings because he is a bad influence

I do believe that being gay is a person’s choice. But that does not mean that they should be treated badly and shunned from society, that will just make things worse. Respect and equality are important.

صج إنسان غير متخلف و فاهم 👌

Its a choice, there is no proof that they are born gay whatever, the most laughable proofs are these from the animal kingdom that gays get attached to, (see that or this gay animal captured on video !!!) well… good for you such things happen like 0.000000001% on the animal kingdom and its likely that animal had brain damage or born with abnormal situation

Its like saying a pedophile had no choice, no trial would listen to this BS and will jail him, regardless if both gays are ok with the relationship and no one is hurt the idea remains if you accept gays then accept pedos too and the idea that god is messed up and he create humans with awful sexual desires and humans are not to be blamed “they had no choice !!!”

Many gays were treated and turned straight, studies showed that many men that got raped while being children turned gay when they growed up, being gay is mostly environmental not DNA or anything, many even became gay because they were rejected by women and can’t handle women

Ya, it clearly states that, and he is right, Mark. Alot of studies prove the contrary of what LGBT communities want the public to believe, but as Darwin’s evolution is “infallible” to the West, so are those theories of homosexuality being a genetic disorder and such. The Royal College of Psychiatrists made a study about it, and that’s just one of the studies done on this topic:

People Are Not Born Gay, Affirms Royal College of Psychiatrists
https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/PS02_2014.pdf

Anyhow, even though it is a choice, being rude wouldn’t help to fix this. I believe that bringing up the proofs to someone will differentiate between those who want to change themselves and those who are doing this for the pleasure of thier filthy desiers.

You answered why yourself in your other comment, I asked you if you could choose to be gay and you replied “I don’t know the details of making that choice because I am not gay”. There are no details, you can’t choose to be gay because it’s not a choice not because there are some secret rules which you aren’t aware of.

As the comments above said that it is all enviromental reaons, and I won’t change my enviroment to prove it, especially that pornography has a significant impact. But some organizations that help people with homosexuality surveyed 200 of its members and the results showed that it is all enviromental reasons, here is the link:

https://www.peoplecanchange.com/change/causes.php

Those who care about themselves will change, that’s why this survey is the most accurate, while others who seek sexual pleasure out of it will do anything to delusionally show how “natural” it is.

Wow just wow! That’s your reason 👏 come on Mark your smarter than that.
I don’t know the reasons or details because I’m not gay.
Mark please please please try thinking of a legit reason to back up your claims.

I get you 100%, it’s just that I disagree with you. There is nothing wrong with having different opinions.

But you still didn’t give me a valid reason for your claims 😉

Atleast I am not being dogmatic here, I expressed my opinion with proofs and instead got an insult as a reply. I won’t continue replying to your comments. As I see it, you’re not mature enough for a debate.

UMMM did you even READ that article you just sent or are you just POSING as an academic? Khalid the article says yes they might not be born gay but that the factors that make someone homosexual happen after birth and that ” There is no evidence to go beyond this and impute any kind of
choice into the origins of sexual orientation.”

IE THERE IS NO CHOICE. Goddamit man at least read the stuff YOU post.

Did you READ the study you posted? Here is the first paragraph.

“The Royal College of Psychiatrists considers that sexual orientation is
determined by a combination of biological and postnatal environmental factors.

There is no evidence to go beyond this and impute any kind of choice into the origins of sexual orientation. (MEANING IT’S NOT A CHOICE YOU GENIUS)

The College wishes to clarify that homosexuality is not a psychiatric disorder. In 1973 the American Psychiatric Association (APA) concluded
there was no scientific evidence that homosexuality was a disorder and removed it from its diagnostic glossary of mental disorders. The International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization followed suit in
1992.

The College holds the view that lesbian, gay and bisexual people are and should be regarded as valued members of society, who have exactly
similar rights and responsibilities as all other citizens.”

You’re an idiot (or a troll).

Being gay is not a fucking choice. If it was a choice wouldn’t all gays would choose to be straight? Why live life the hard way when you can have it all while “being” straight? Think about it. It’s not a choice.

I don’t trust people i don’t know :-p

And to make it clear, i do have friends who are gay/lesbians, just in case you will label me as LGBT hater.

Having said that, it’s more of a preferrence really, ergo, a “choice”. A lifestyle choice actually.

And I don’t see anything wrong with that. What people do in their private lives (be it being straight or gay) is just that… PRIVATE.

But when you factor in the expectations of the society as a whole, it’s a different story altogether.

Dear انسان غير متخلف وفاهم (who are you fooling btw?!!),
please do you procreate if you will not accept your kids for possibly being gay, trans, gender fluid, or mentally or physically disabled. their life iwill be hard enough as it is and they deserve to at least have their parents’ support

gays are against the LAW here……and it should be like that everywhere.
what is this thing with people supporting battyboys rights nowadays!!! its just wrong
No religion accepts that….if someone is gay he should see a doctor/shrink to sort him out

No they are not against the law and if anyone should see a shrink it is you for an actual psychological disorder called Homophobia, or better yet get back inside your f-ing time machine and go back to the middle ages where you belong.

You’d also be wise to keep your religion to yourself, who are you to judge others with your religion? You are not God, you are not instrument for God’s judgment, you’re nothing but intolerant. You and your kind spreading your hate are the real problem in this world.

Dude! probably the way MS put down his comment was wrong. but he isnt!
and you comment about middle ages is just pathetic!
lets leave religions aside..

Gays are against the flow of nature…
there are guys and girls.. they meet and reproduce.. that’s the cycle..

the whole deal about Gay rights has become such a big issue is coz there are just way too many gays to be living in the shadow..
just coz there are gays.. it doesnt become right!

tomorrow if it becomes a common phenomenon for a human to have sex with a dog.. people like you will be standing up for their rights.. what was gore and taboo yesterday is just another fact today..

ok JM im not going to get with any dialogue conflict with you because its not my thing but answer this and be honest
“if your dad or son were gay how are you going to react?

Wow the ignorance is real. Keeping the fairy tales and story books aside you are the epitome of a homophobic idiot. Get your head out of your arse.

Being homosexual is not illegal? or maybe just as long as it doesn’t show. Gay men that look feminine are being dragged in jail and harassed on a daily basis. Transgendered are dragged to police stations to be raped, beaten up, and tortured physically and mentally. I’m confused honestly, would love to know more about the validity of the recent law of “التشبه بالنساء”

Thank you for bringing this topic up.

Cross dressing is explicitly illegal. Being gay is not explicitly illegal in the sense that the law does not mention homosexuality. However it does fall under public morality and lewdness and debauchery laws in Kuwait.

So yes being gay is not illegal, but acting gay is illegal.

true but that doesn’t mean its ok nor does it mean that we shouldn’t work to become a more tolerant, equal, and accepting society

Homosexuality is so overrated btw, everyone cries about gays discriminated but no one cried when 13 year old girls in Africa get raped

Appeal to worse problems, eh? This is probably one of the reasons why Kuwait is still in the awful state it is in now.

its strange that no one had anything to say about this comment since it is the most fair handed one yet.

anyways – i absolutely agree Andy

Thank you for making this post!!!! I seriously wonder if people here will ever be able to accept homosexuality as a totally normal thing that a person can be.

so the 7aywanat that fool around and drink that’s ok but as soon as someone mentions homosexuality that’s immediately considered haram? lmao go sort yourself out none of you have the right to judge someone that’s between them and Allah so stop acting like you’re religious all of a sudden when something goes against YOUR personal opinion…Kuwait is filled with hypocrites

What are you on about?

We are Arabs AND Muslims

Homosexuality is NOT socially acceptable in MOST Arab countries and MOST Muslim countries

Kuwait isn’t the exception to the rule, we’re not immune to Islamism and we’re not immune to homophobia

I don’t know why you’re so bothered with the way some people are born and I’ll bet you anything that you’re one of those Kuwaities that DOES drink and does sin in other ways but wants to go against one thing and keeps saying its haram over and over again if people are proud of the way they are let them be we’re all equal and human at the end of the day

I don’t think being GAY is haram.

Stop putting words in my mouth.

Kuwaitis don’t care about ‘haram’. Religion is not the direct cause of homophobia. Homophobia is a cultural thing related to HUMAN NATURE. In secular societies, you will find plenty of homophobic people. Why? Because humans are humans, we always want someone to pick on…

Homophobia is deeply ingrained in ALL Muslim and Arab countries, this problem isn’t just limited to Kuwait.

Stop singling out Kuwait for homophobia.

You know, in 2012 Lebanese police conducted medical tests on suspected gays. This didn’t make the Western news, but Human Rights Watch reported about it in depth.

I have no problem with homosexuality and I hope that that the Kuwaiti government apologizes for its government-mandated homophobia since 1981

nice one con.

unfortunately in spite of being SO homophobic, middle eastern countries seem to produce tonnes of homosexuality. why is that?

there is a prevelant thought in ME cultures that if you are ‘getting’ you are gay but if you ‘giving’ then you are still straight. As stupid as this sounds, its pretty common.

I think its the repressive attitude towards religion, and the not holding oneself up to your own supposed standards that accounts for so much homosexuality here.

there are at least 2 different kinds o homosexuality. THe on that is commonly thought to be not a choice. And then there’s the one that shows up a lot in repressive situations – ultra islamic countries, catholic schools, islamis schools, jails, ships with no women on it. Men will stick it into anything …

that sort of homosexuality is a choice – and you get PLENTY of both here in Kuwait

Wow, the number of people here who need to get their head out their arse is astonishing. ‘Being gay is a choice’ then with that logic being straight is a choice too. ‘Gays are against the flow of nature’ Homosexuality is abundant in nature with various animals. Do you know of the preservation of genes? here are countless reports of homosexuality in animals, and animals have sex to reproduce, ergo not having sex for pleasure. and preservation of genes is the isolation of a base pair, forming the genes, to prevent the degradation of these genes through reproduction, as the exchange of genetic material in meiosis particularly during the contact points of the charismata, is extremely high, therefore the genes needed and expressed in a population stays relatively constant Eg one necessary expressed gene/s vs 8 unexpressed rather than 1 vs 20. And in case you’re wondering which animals exhibit homosexuality bats and lions have the highest rate out of any known species top off my head.

If you read this far you deserve a cookie. Read a book or something before making such uninformed statements. It’s 2014 nearing 2015. No one has time for your fairy tales. There are over 4000+ active religions in the world so quite a number of story books to follow as the ‘true word of God’.

firstly. I want my cookie. Secondly – i fully agree BUT .

be careful. Kuwait is not so free a country that ppl wont take it personally that you’ve said something about their religion, or even try and reinterpret perfectly harmless words to make it seem like you were being blasphemous.

Im not religious… I’m just saying. I’ve met some crazies.

I’m not going to express my own opinions here (beyond the scope of a blog comment).
But I will say that being gay is definitely a choice made by the person, and that it is unnatural.
I’m not going to judge them, because I am not perfect either.

I don’t understand how people think being gay is a choice. If you think you can be gay now and like it then I’m afraid to break it to you… but it’s probably because you’re gay.

Being gay is NOT a choice.

“I don’t understand how people think being gay is a choice” you don’t have to 🙂 it’s my opinion

“If you think you can be gay now and like it then I’m afraid to break it to you… but it’s probably because you’re gay.” did I say or mention that I would like being gay now????
I just said that I won’t judge, I meant that I will not disrespect gays and treat them badly.

You clearly said and I quote “But I will say that being gay is definitely a choice made by the person”

You think being gay is an option which means a person can choose to be gay or not. What I said that if you think you can just choose to be gay if you want to (Because it’s a choice) then it’s most likely because you’re gay and not because being gay is something you choose to be. No straight person can choose to be gay, you’re either gay or not you can’t choose.

“I don’t understand how people think being gay is a choice.” You don’t have to 🙂 it’s my opinion

“If you think you can be gay now and like it then I’m afraid to break it to you… but it’s probably because you’re gay.”
Wtf, when did I say or mention that I would like being gay now???? No I’m not gay.
I just said I won’t judge, meaning I won’t ridicule or treat them badly.

You clearly said and I quote “But I will say that being gay is definitely a choice made by the person”

You think being gay is an option which means a person can choose to be gay or not. What I said that if you think you can just choose to be gay if you want to (Because it’s a choice) then it’s most likely because you’re gay and not because being gay is something you choose to be. No straight person can choose to be gay, you’re either gay or not you can’t choose.

Aha now I see how you interpreted it…
In that case, just because I beleive that being gay is choice does not mean that I am gay.
In other words: if someone believes that being gay is a choice that does not make him/her gay. Again this is my opinion… Which you disagree with.

I’m just saying its a choice I don’t know the details of making that choice because I am not gay lol

Could be a second could be a year, I don’t know. Try asking any gay person.

When did you “choose” to be straight? I didn’t choose to be straight. I am simply “straight”. If I didn’t choose to be straight how did someone else “choose” to be gay?

It’s so funny how tens of thousands of Arab parents send their children to study medicine in America and Europe when ALL of their medical schools, psychology schools and social work programs will teach students that homosexuality is natural and can’t be changed.

Every doctor and psychiatrist in America belongs to The American Medical Association, The American Psychiatric Association, The America Psychoanalytic Association, The American Academy of Pediatrics and The National Association of Social Work ALL believe it is natural and cannot be changed.

Call me crazy but I’d much rather listen to those thousands of American and European doctors than some guy who named himself after a mass murderer/wholly incompetent U.S. president.

The American Medical Association>Nixon.

Don’t even think about telling me that Arab doctors know better than American/European doctors. Yeah that’s why Americans and Europeans come HERE to study medicine. In the immortal words of Cher Horowitz, “as if!”

The American Medical Association’s statement on homosexuality:

https://www.clgs.org/official-statement-concerning-homosexuality-american-medical-association

The American Psychological Association:

https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx

Mark, it’s great that you’re retaliating against these medieval buffoons, but you have to hit them with cold hard facts like this. Otherwise, they’ll keep arguing ad nauseam.

I dare them to contradict The American Medical Association which was founded in 18-fucking-47 and is the largest association of physicians in the United States. I dare them.

I find it disturbing that all of this is gathered on an opinion, though I still stand buy it. Agree with me or you don’t I honestly don’t care. I think we should rather focus on more important stuff like equality towards gays.

@trail mix I laughed so hard about the Nixon joke, it’s not based on him.

“Just remember, if it wasn’t for your employees your company wouldn’t function, if it wasn’t for your house help you wouldn’t have a clean home and a hot meal. Just remember, your son did not chose to be gay. Your religion doesn’t make you a good or bad person, your actions do and all religions are lovely in one way or another.”

amen !

Fajer – BEST post on this blog so far. Unfortunately the type of comments here reflect the sort of minds you are dealing with. I remember on this blog when people were saying that abuse of maids was a VERY minor problem in Kuwait and that only a few isolated individuals did it. I remember talking to ppl who said only a very few companies are racist, confiscate passports, dont pay their employees, pay them based on race.

several years later and we realise, all the accusations were true – this is happening ALL over Kuwait and as you have rightly pointed out – homophobia is now leaking into the popular conscience.

It somehow makes sense to these thick ppl that homosexuals in repressive countries who face the threat of torture, death, the expulsion from their family, shame, dishonor, the judgement from their religion – are just CHOOSING to be gay cus they are pervs of some sort. It’s like saying – hey stop being brown or I’ll kill you.

Sadly I think you are fighting a losing battle – I wish it wasn’t so. But people in Kuwait here do not believe in equality – whether its race, gender, religion or sexual preference. Every expat, every woman, and all gays here know what they are up against

Keep doing what you do and saying what you say

Homosexuals in Kuwait do not face death because the death penalty is not applied to homosexuality in Kuwait. Homosexuality is punishable by death in the UAE and Qatar, not in Kuwait.

Who are you to say that Kuwait is a ‘repressive country’? Reporters without Borders and Freedom House have ranked Kuwait number one in civil liberties in the GCC and Kuwait is among the best-ranking countries in civil liberties in the Middle East region.

Homophobia is deeply ingrained in ALL Muslim and Arab countries. This problem isn’t just limited to Kuwait. Stop singling out Kuwait for homophobia.

Everyone has known about maid abuse in Kuwait, this is widely reported in the local Kuwaiti media. Have you ever read the Arab Times Online or Kuwait Times? I’m sincerely confused at your claim that maid abuse is only NOW known and talked about

Kuwaiti women are among the most-emancipated women in the Middle East region and GCC. In 2013, 53% of Kuwaiti women participated in the labor force. Kuwait’s labor force participation rate for Kuwaiti women (53%) is slightly above the world average (51%) and much higher than the MENA average (21%). Source: page 17 https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2013/cr13337.pdf

In 2011, Kuwait was ranked highest of all Arab countries in gender equality in the Human Development Report’s Gender Inequality Index https://fanack.com/typo3temp/pics/kuwait_gender_730px_03_c1f442976a.jpg

In 2014, Kuwait was ranked first among Arab countries in gender equality in the Global Gender Gap Report https://widgets.weforum.org/gender-gap-report-2014/#mena

Your opinion is very subjective and contradicts reliable organizations’ studies on womens emancipation in Kuwait. The labor force participation of Kuwaiti women is higher than the global average, which dispels your assertions about how oppressed Kuwaiti women are. Yes, Kuwaiti women are discriminated to a certain extent (mostly the family law and can’t transmit citizenship to offspring), but for you to equate the situation of expats/gays to the situation of Kuwaiti women.. it just proves your extreme bias and subjectivity

this again? go far enough back on this blog and you will see rampant denial on most major social issues. hmmmm – kind of like now.

I’m not sure that the reports of foreign organisations who are unable to penetrate all classes of society – and for that matter are getting most of their statistics from a country that doesnt really do statistics, are reliable. THe reality on the ground is very different from the supposed conclusions of various organisations.

And chill out seriously – you are saying women here dont face cultural pressure? – to marry their cousins, to not have children, citizenship issues – as youve mentioned? also bear in mind that the majority of women in Kuwait are not Kuwaiti – and many are paying with their bodies for that.

Kuwait is repressive. Of course if you have money, are Kuwaiti, are straight etc etc you do better than if you arent. there are varying levels – and if you feel thats not what I was saying then I apologise and formally move to have this added to my explanation.

Kuwait isn’t talking statistics? Stop making up bullshit. The UN, IMF and International Labour Organization have all confirmed that Kuwait’s labor force participation of Kuwaiti women is the highest in the Middle East and slightly above the global average.

You’re very subjective and your claims lack citations. The Kuwaiti government takes statistics, the UN, IMF and International Labour Organization have all confirmed that the labour force participation of Kuwaiti women is the highest in the Arab world and slightly higher than the world average. What you say won’t change reality. The majority of Kuwaiti women don’t marry their cousins, stop pretending you’re an expert on Kuwaiti society. Kuwaito women do face cultural pressure to an extent but I suggest that you refrain from pretending you’re an expert on Kuwaiti society. You’re taking every little flaw and magnifying it.

yeah cus im going to give CITATIONS – on a blog.

anyhoo – you are free to believe whatever you want to. But you can take your suggestions and blow them out your ass

You have failed to provide any evidence that Kuwait doesn’t collect statistics. You have also failed to provide any sources for your other outrageous allegations.

It’s easy to talk BS about Kuwaitis but you always fail to provide any actual sources to substantiate your claims.

genius – how does one provide EVIDENCE for something that doesnt exist? or for that matter if something exists and is fabricated – how does one provide evidence for that!?

can say what i want fool! only the moderator can stop me! so suck it!

(crossing fingers that this gets through)

Your opinion isn’t reliable and different from the facts on the ground. International organizations like the UN, World Economic Forum, IMF and International Labour Organization are more reliable than you’ll ever be. Whether you like it or not, women in Kuwait have it better than women elsewhere in the Arab world. There is discrimination to an extent, but please stop pretending that you speak for Kuwaiti women.

ahhh i see so women in kuwait= kuwaiti women? I guess only KUWAITIS are worthy of being thought of as human beings?

If i make statements about women then obviously they represent the majority more than the minority. So if anything, I take back the word ‘all’ women – and replace it with – MOST women.

Love how you think Kuwaitis are God’s gift to the genders

No one ever claimed that Kuwaitis are God’s gift to genders. There remains many flaws in our society. But you really don’t have a clue about our society, you’re just spewing bullshit and nonsense.

Nearly HALF of the women in Kuwait are Kuwaitis and MOST women in Kuwait are Arabs

nearly half is less that 50 percent. Which means your statements are about less than 50 percent of women in Kuwait – and possibly less than that. well done. you’ve just agreed with me. have this cookie I just got!

Do most people in America believe in equality?

Do most people in the UK believe in equality?

You’re fooling yourself if you believe most people in this world believe in equality. Let’s not pretend that the USA is the land of equality or that the UK is the land of equality.

It’s not fair to single out Kuwait for maid abuses or homophobia. Maid abuse is more rampant and unreported in other parts of the Gulf region, where they don’t have any semblance of free media so you never hear local media outlets talking about the prevalence of maid suicides and slavery.. Unlike in Kuwait where the media is relatively free and you DO hear the Kuwait Times talking about maid suicides and slavery in Kuwait.

Homophobia isn’t leaking into the popular conscience, it was always there. The average Kuwaiti or expat living in Kuwait were always this way, you only hear the opinion come out now because there are dissenting opinions and you hear the arguments.

15 years ago nobody had to say they were against it because it was taken for granted, parts of the new generation slowly started to shift in opinion. It’s like that everywhere though, gay marriage was 100% illegal 10 years ago in the US but these days speaking out against it is already seen as backwards.

These things take time to change

Sorry for interrupting the Gay Pride Parade, but it is my understanding that Buddhist and Hindu/Sikh Temples are not allowed in Kuwait. It that correct?

They are allowed. Hindus, Sikhs, Baha’is and Buddhists, may not build official places of worship since these religions lack legal status, but they are allowed to freely worship in their private residential compounds. The Sikh community are generally able to worship freely and engage in other religious activities, including public marriage and other celebrations, without government interference. Source: https://www.refworld.org/docid/416ce9e111.html

so in other words – buddhis/hindu/sikh temples are not allowed in Kuwait.

I’m not sure that what you’re saying is what he’s asking. A muslim house is not a mosque

They are allowed. There are plenty of temples in Kuwait and Hindus are able to freely celebrate their public marriages and other celebrations like Diwali. 50% of Muslim places of worship in Kuwait are unofficial (800 husseinayas, only 100 are registered). Unlike Qatar and most parts of the UAE, Kuwait recognizes civil marriage for expats. Most GCC countries don’t recognize civil marriage for expats. Moreover, Hindus in Kuwait have music concerts on a weekly basis featuring the biggest Bollywood stars.

uhh religion lacks official status. Official places of worship cannot exist. But ppl can do what they want in their RESIDENTIAL complexes? And therefore Kuwait allows buddhist, hindu and sikh temples? dude what the fuck is wrong with you?

and uhhhh thats quite ignorant AND exaggerative – what do Hindus have to do with Bollywood? Bollywood is INDIAN – as in muslim and christian and sikh and hindu indians are all into bollywood. its not a religious thing.

seriously what a dolt!

ahhh RENTED TEMPLES!!!!! of course … never mind then you are absolutely correct. equal rights across the board. how could i have possibly been so mistaken.

…

lol

Correction: Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus have the freedom to practice their religion and celebrate their holidays in public. But these religions aren’t officially recognized religions, so they don’t have official places of worship. There are several Buddhist/Sikh/Hindu temples in Kuwait, unofficially official. Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus are able to freely worship inside these ‘unofficial’ temples.

Correction: Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus have the freedom to practice their religion and celebrate their holidays in public. But these religions lack legal status (ie they’re not officially recognized religions), so they don’t have official places of worship. There are several Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu temples in Kuwait, unofficially official. Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus are able to freely worship inside these ‘unofficial’ temples.

I don’t understand why there are so many homophobic trolls commenting here. Grow up people, are you all children? Just grow up. Being gay is or isn’t a choice…. Who cares?!? Many Kuwaiti guys are gay, has anyone here ever been to a Kuwaiti high school? Let’s stop pretending that homosexuality isn’t common in Kuwaiti society. I bet many homophobic people here are self-hating gays

You’re probably right as anti-gay crusaders have been found in homosexual scandals on more than one occasion. The more someone hates gays the more I wonder if they’re just really repressed and are actually gay themselves. The poor bastards.

The comments here are gone completely out of hand. State your opinions and that’s it.

Didn’t expect Mark to get so aggressive.

“You have the freedom of speech, as long as you say what I believe in”

Very well written and truthful article. Just had a question to Fajer. What is the handicap law of kuwait on percentage of parking spots in a commercial building and office with respect to total number of parking? Commercial buildings and malls, using valet services and ignorant people, are misusing thes parking spots.

whats truly sad is that someone you know is probably in the LGBTQA+ spectrum and they’re probably reading these comment and thinking i hope i never encounter these people. they are why its too dangerous to come out

you are talking about freedom of speech and you cant bear letting my posts appear over there. firts of all, judge yourself before juding others sweetie. then you can talk about or comment about the dark sides of the community

what a twat? Firstly – the ‘dark’ sides of community? screw you dude. if there is a hell its probably more for judgemental ppl than homosexuals.

secondly – it isnt Fajer that moderates this blog

are you her lawyeR? bcuz i dont remember that i wrote something related with you.and twat is your father.i thought that you would be happy to know.

when you called homosexuality the ‘dark’ sides of society you involved every homosexual and every half way decent straight person. so yeah ‘sweety’ you involved me.

you know what. never mind. the best way to deal with angry, constantly on their period ppl like this is by using a close relation to the facepalm and that is the faceass.

here you go buddy, have a faceass on me!!! (})

LOL YOU SHOWED ME HOW TOLERANT YOU ARE. AND YOU EXPECT COMMUNITY TO BE MORE TOLERANT. FIRST CORRECT YOUR OWN MISTAKES AND THEN LOOK AROUND. NOW OPEN YOUTUBE AND LISTEN TO SELL ME CANDY FROM RIHANNA 😛 DEAR MISS TOLERANT…

Mark and Fajir,
Thank you for the information… I really hope one day every single I socially will be treated fairly

But being considered a gay man here in the GCC is only for the ‘receivers’ and not for the ‘givers’ right lol So for all you homophobic ‘givers’ out there cheers to not being gay…. dumb hypocrites

@Nixon – whilst ‘giving’ to their friend they choosing not to be gay lol

Fajer, it’s ok if you’re a lesbian. It’s ok if you want to come out 🙂 You seem like an awesome person.

The comments here further confirm that despite its wealth, Kuwait will never advance to be a country people WANT to come to. Some people’s archaic, ignorant mentalities will always hamper its progress. It will be interesting to see how fast the country devolves once the oil runs out.

Kuwaitis were much more progressive before oil. It will be interesting to see how fast Kuwait evolves once the oil runs out. Kuwait will evolve once the oil runs out because the Islamist dual citizens will finally go back to Saudi Arabia.

Is there any evidence that most of the homophobic people here are Kuwaitis? they could be Arab expats or Muslim expats

Looking at demographics, it’d make sense that a significant number of people commenting here aren’t Kuwaitis. Arabs are 60% of Kuwait’s total population and Muslims are 80% of Kuwait’s total population

LMAO what. no. Kuwait before oil was essentially the same Kuwait it had been for hundreds of years, it progressed rapidly because of the oil and foreign interest that brought.

Most Kuwaitis are homophobic. You might be thinking of the people that graduated with you in a 5000KD+ a year private school, who studied in the US and go on vacations to Europe every 3 months. That is not most of Kuwait. By the way those same people will be the first to leave when the oil runs out, all their money is already in foreign markets.

I went to a public school. Pre-oil Kuwait was described as a place of refuge for the oppressed, why? Many historians and scholars acknowledge that Kuwaiti society was more tolerant before oil because in the three decades following independence, the Kuwaiti government naturalized 220,000 Islamists from Saudi Arabia and to a lesser extent Syria and Iraq. I am well aware of the fact that most Kuwaitis are homophobic. I meant Kuwaiti society before oil was more tolerant of cultural, religious and ethnic heterogeneity than it is right now – this is due to the large-scale naturalization of people with the ‘island mentality’. It is widely acknowledged that pre-oil Kuwait was ethnically, racially and religiously heterogenous and Kuwaiti pearl divers and merchants always communicated with Zanzibaris and southwest Indians.

You do realize that Kuwait is not a democracy so the views expressed here won’t make a difference in Kuwait’s progress. & You do realize that many anti-gay countries are extremely successful? Just look at the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Malaysia, etc.

Kuwait is a muslim country and as muslims, we all know that homosexuality and homosexual acts are some of the bigger sins. Its against human nature and will never be considered as a norm unless everyone decides to ignore religion in this country

As a Muslim I hope you don’t have a maid you mistreat, workers you underpay, I hope you don’t have an interest bearing bank account, or a bank account in any bank that owns interest bearing cash, I hope you aren’t arrogant or spending money on things to make yourself look better, I hope you’re kind instead of judgemental, I hope you don’t approach people with your first word being in anger, I hope you obey your husband no matter what he says even if it’s against your will, I hope you don’t own any art or sculptures, I hope you have never harmed another muslim or human

Do you do all that? Focus on yourself before you focus on other people being gay

As a Western expat it’s quite interesting reading this debate, gay is a choice, gay is not choice, gays are normal gays are not normal. What I can tell you is that it’s commonly believed among Western expats I know that 80% of the local men are gay or bisexual. Yes, you read that right 80%. I am not saying I agree or disagree but being homophobic doesn’t preclude this rumor but only rather serves to exacerbate it. As one poster clearly outlined, being the active partner doesn’t make someone straight. In fact, in my opinion it makes him gayer as he actually has to be aroused but his partner doesn’t have to be. Moving along, is gay a choice? Well the OVERWHELMING body of medical and scientific discourse is widely on the side that homosexuality is a normal variation in human sexuality and is fixed. (Yes, NORMAL) In plain English: it’s not a choice. Mark is right! For those who claim it’s a mental illness you only do your selves a disservice by spotlighting how uneducated and ignorant you are, as once again the overwhelming body of scientific and psychology associations, including the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization do NOT classify homosexuality as a mental disorder. For those who claim it’s against religion or Islam. Don’t pick and choose when it comes to religious tenets. Just remember most religious books say women should be subservient to men but most countries in the world have enshrined female equality into their constitutions or their laws. At the end of the day, when many of you wonder why the west thinks the Middle East is backward and primitive, just tell them to read the homophobic comments on this post.

For someone that has actual citations in their post you should know better than “80% of the population is gay”. It is much higher than the public is willing to believe but especially among Americans that was propaganda that spread during the 2003 Iraq war to dehumanize Arabs. The kind of people that were grunts in the military were themselves homophobic and would spread all sorts of stuff about “All arabs are secretly gay. Yet you miss the irony of the statistic being propogated as a form of homophobia

aaa is correct about the 80% propaganda.
Though the follow-up question:
Why should the percentage of gays in Kuwait significantly being different than from the rest of the world population?

There’s a difference between homosexual acts and gays. Committing homosexual acts for strictly pleasure can be done by any person. There’s a lot going on among heterosexuals out there. That’s no secret. Many of these men are married and don’t consider themselves as gay also.
Regardless the give- or receive bs.

Male and female gays want to love- and take care for eachother just like in a ‘normal’, socially accepted man-woman relationship. Only without the possibility of propagation.
The difference between a homo- and a hetero relation happens within the privacy of a bedroom.
And what is that of my concern what happens there between 2 adults? Why should I want to know what 2 people do what the whole world does?
Or better said, should do.
Make love no war.

The question whether homosexuals are born that way or not is repulsive and totally not interesting. It’s discriminating and a cheap excuse to defend what cannot be defended, the dehumanizing of a substantial part of each society.

Dear AAA,

Thank you for your response but I firmly noted in my post that the 80% number was from the group of expats I know, and I clearly labelled it as a rumor. I also didn’t say I agree..though I don’t disagree either, but anecdotal evidence is still not always spurious. And P.S. I am not American and the expats I know didn’t get this impression of the high gay/bisexual population here from Americans, they noted it from direct observation or having met many openly gay locals or the many who are secretly gay or bisexual.

The US should have just let Saddam have his way with Kuwait to show some of these people what backwards thinking can really amount to.

I am GAY and I wish I can be Straight in this fucking missed up society !

STOP the hate! if don’t the gays dont be one! but lets others do WTF they want!

Ai man, if you’re gay; you’re gay. Don’t let mindless idiots criticize nor judge you based on your sexual orientation. It’s totally okay to be gay so f anyone who tells you anything other than that, be with whoever you want to be.

thank you for being comfortable enough to come. hopefully one day you’ll be accepted and feel safe enough to spend you life with whoever make you happy.

It is pretty appalling to read what some people have to say. Thank you so much Mark and Fajer for advocating for human justice. Homosexuality is NOT a choice. For those of you saying it is, I will not present the overwhelming factual data claiming otherwise, but instead would strongly urge you to think about it logically. Why would ANYONE choose to be a homosexual? To be discriminated against? To get ridiculed, belittled and shunned from society? To be disowned from your family? To resort to drugs and dangerous behavior to escape the misery of wishing tou were attracted to the opposite sex? Do you guys even know how high the suicide rate is for homosexual teenagers who deal with depression because they can’t “choose” to be straight? Seriously. Where is your humanity? Did you choose your skin color? Did you choose to be Arab? Did you choose to be attracted to the opposite sex?

And for those of you making the utterly absurd comparison of homosexuality with pedophilia or beastiality — the difference could not be made more clear. In homosexuality, the sexual relations are between CONSENTING adults. An animal and a child are NOT consenting adults; it is that simple.
Just as you find the opposite sex to be attractive, homosexuals find the same sex to be attractive. It is biological. They did NOT have a say in their “choice”. Whether it is environmental or not is irrelevant to the fact that it is unchangeable and was out of their control. NOBODY chooses to be disadvantaged. It is so frustrating to see some of these unfounded opinions.
I advocate for intellectual justice, and the ignorance that is pasted in many of these posts is quite frankly disturbing. I am glad that a conversation is happening and that this issue is being brought to light. Thanks again Mark and Fajer.

ok so i know wikipedia is not the most trustworthy source but it says :

“In 2007, the Al Arabiya news service reported that a group of Kuwaitis had applied for a permit to form a new association that would stand up for the rights of LGBT Kuwaitis.”

does anyone know if it ever amounted to anything?

The point of this article was tolerance and patience,
but i am glad it brought up a discussion. Communication is good. Law is not still it is dynamic, and discussions are essential to change. so whether you agree or disagree, i am glad you all shared your thoughts.
Everyone, thank you kindly.
Fajerthelawyer

A free and open discourse on any issue is a good thing. Sadly, some subjects will still get you thrown in jail or whacked in many parts of the world.

Thank you so much for supporting the LGBT community with your views. And I also agree that everyone should be treated equally no matter what their race or sexual orientations are etc… Seeing people like you in my country makes me so proud. As part of the LGBT community in Kuwait, I will support you no matter what happens. You have my full respect. Thank you very much Miss Fajer.

with love

Barrak.

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