June 10, 2024ProgramSupporting International Efforts to Advance Legal Protections for Women
The Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World submits joint report on women's legal equality in Kuwait.
The Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World, jointly with Musawah and the Abolish Article 153 campaign, submitted a shadow report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee), addressing legal frameworks related to violence against women in Kuwait, as well as personal status and nationality laws.
The report was discussed at the CEDAW Committee’s 88th Session in May 2024, as part of its constructive dialogue session. Member States to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) engage in regular constructive dialogues with the CEDAW Committee of independent international experts in order to evaluate and facilitate the implementation of their obligations under the Convention.
The report examines Kuwait’s legal framework and analyzes key laws and policies that impact the women in five priority areas: gender-based violence, women’s legal capacity, early and child marriage, divorce and custody rights, and nationality rights. It highlights positive legal reforms introduced in Kuwait since its last constructive dialogue with the CEDAW Committee in 2017, including the enactment of the 2020 Domestic Violence Law, analyzes challenges of legal protection and enforcement, and offers recommendation to further enhance the protection of women’s rights in the public and private spheres.
This report is the latest in a series of ongoing collaborations between the Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World at Harvard Law School, Musawah, and women’s rights advocates across Muslim majority and minority countries.
Click here to read the full report.