The Kuwaiti Parliament unanimously passed a law earlier this week to restrict women’s rights by restricting the hours that women are allowed to work. Women will be banned from working between 8:00 pm and 7:00 am with an exception only for women working in the medical profession. Women will also be prohibited from jobs that “contravene with public morals” and that require women to be in otherwise all-male environments. According to AFP, conservative and Islamist ministers, who comprise the majority of the Kuwaiti Parliament, the new law protects women from “being exploited in immoral activities.”
For over 40 years, Kuwaiti women have been fighting for full rights in the conservative Muslim country. In 2005, women in Kuwait won a limited right to vote and run for office. One year later, women were able to vote for the first time. Earlier this year, a parliamentary panel considered expanding Kuwaiti women’s rights.
