Last Wednesday exactly 4 weeks after my ankle surgery, I left the house without crutches for the very first time and it felt amazing. The simple act of walking is something I’ve learned to appreciate so much more because I couldn’t do it while I was recovering. Going around in crutches was such a pain in the ass experience but it could have been a lot more difficult if it wasn’t for the fact the majority of the places in Kuwait are disabled friendly.
The most disabled friendly places in Kuwait are probably the malls especially the new ones like Avenues and 360 Mall. In Avenues I found out that some stores even had elevators in the back that you could use if you wanted to (like Williams Sonoma) and that’s not including all the other elevators located all around the mall. Actually the only place in Avenues I couldn’t access was the men’s section at COS. The mens section at COS is on the top floor and can only be accessed by stairs. So if you’re a disabled guy in a wheelchair or crutches, tough luck you can’t shop at COS.
Once you step outside of malls things generally take a step down but not too badly. I think there is a law that stipulates all buildings are required to have ramps for people in wheelchairs and I think most places do. It’s probably one of the few laws that is actually enforced. Only issue is some of these ramps are so steep that I can’t imagine anyone in a wheelchair being able to go up them without any help. If there was a place I wanted to go to and wasn’t sure if they had handicap access I would call ahead and check. Its how I found out Almakan has an elevator. One place that susrprised me and I’ve already mentioned this before is Sultan Center Shaab. Even thought they aren’t required to do so, they have a regular wheel chair and an electric scooter available at their main entrance for anyone to use. Avenues also have these scooters available.
I obviously can’t speak for everyone and I only had to use crutches for a month but from my short experience, I’m actually impressed at how accessible Kuwait can be to the disabled. Parking though is definitely another issue all together. It’s not the lack of disabled parking spots but the lack of respect for these spots by the general public. The best example of this I could think of is a short video made by Hasan Bomejdad, a player in the Kuwaiti national table tennis team. I posted that video back in 2010 but the issue is still relevant today, people continue to park in disabled spots when they shouldn’t be. You can check out that video [Here] If you have anything to add on this subject based on personal experience, let me know in the comments below.
Top photo by Sara
8 replies on “Disabled Friendly”
Crutches better alternative: https://www.drivemedical.com/index.php/dv8-steerable-aluminum-knee-walker-727.html
Not sure if you have noticed. But a lot of people will stare at disabled people. For example my sister is a extremely smart young child. But one of her arms is shorter then the normal one. So when I go to the mall with her some people will stare at her arm. She is confident in her self. But still it make you feel different.
Did you get a temporary handicap parking permit? Do those even exist here?
I just remembered arabella elevator ! You must find that very beneficial ! haha…
Engineers without borders in Kuwait are having a campaign to make different places more disabled friendly
where can i get more info on this?
I am surprised to hear that Kuwait is making some improvements in terms of accessibility for individuals with disabilities. God knows Kuwait is very far behind in terms of providing equal access to services.
That being said, thought you should know that it is more appropriate to say individual with disability rather than disabled individual. When you use the term ‘disabled’ individual, it implies that the disability is the defining factor of the individual.
Is this a joke???
first of all, just because you spent a month with a cast DOES NOT make you disabled nor does it make you knowledgeable about disability needs. As is clearly evident by this article.
Kuwait (and much of the Gulf) is absolutely horrible for people with disabilities. I am paralyzed and I use a wheel-chair 24/7.
— I cannot take a stroll outside. Most streets are not only rough but they lack proper side-walks. And when there ARE sidewalks they dont have a cut in the curb, so how am I suppose to jump my wheelchair onto the sidewalk?
— only the new malls/buildings have elevators. Most other places don’t.
— Cinema/other entertainment venues rarely cater to disability needs.
— There is no accessible transportation. If you’re in a wheel-chair and need to get around; you rely on the kindness of others.
unfortunately, if a disabled person wants to remain independent; leaving Kuwait is the first step.