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LGBT rights in Kuwait

Summary

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Kuwait face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity between men is specifically outlawed and LGBT individuals may also be targeted under the public morality laws. LGBT persons are regularly prosecuted by the government and additionally face discrimination and stigmatization by officials and amongst the broader population.

LGBT rights in Kuwait
Kuwait
StatusHomosexuality illegal for males, legal for females
PenaltyUp to 7 years in prison
Gender identityNo; crossdressing decriminalised
MilitaryNo
Discrimination protectionsNone
Family rights
Recognition of relationshipsNo recognition of same-sex unions
AdoptionNo

Law edit

Consensual sexual activity between men is illegal. No laws specifically criminalise same-sex sexual activity between women.

  • Article 193 of the Penal Code punishes "consensual intercourse between men of full age (from the age of 21)" with a term of imprisonment of up to seven years.[1]
  • Article 198 prohibits public immorality:

Whoever commits an indecent gesture or act in a public place or such that anyone in a public place can see or hear him, he shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year and a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees, or by one of these two penalties.

[2]

Living conditions edit

In September 2013, it was announced that all countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council had agreed to discuss a proposal to establish some form of, as yet unknown, "testing" to detect homosexuality in order to deny entry to gay foreigners.[3][4] However, it has been suggested that concern for hosting 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and fears of controversy over the possible screening of football fans, made officials backtrack on the plans and insist that it was a mere proposal.[5]

In 2017 Instagram star King Luxy was arrested in Kuwait for allegedly looking too feminine. He spent two weeks in custody before he was released.[6]

Discrimination edit

HIV/AIDS issues edit

In 1988, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Public Health supported a study investigating the prevalence of unrecognised HIV infection in Kuwait, which found no infections in a sample of Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti men. A similar sentinel surveillance study was performed in 1997–1998, again detecting no HIV infection in its sample group.[a] The incidence of HIV/AIDS has remained very low within Kuwait, under 0.1 percent over the entire period up to the latest reported figures in 2021. The segment of the population that forms the majority of those with HIV in Kuwait, is males aged between 25 and 49 years, at 47 percent of the total.[7]

Foreigners found to be infected with AIDS/HIV are deported,[8][9] but Kuwaiti citizens who are infected are entitled to outpatient medical care, organised by a specialized infectious disease hospital.[10]

In 2004 a United Nations report on HIV in Kuwait found that about six percent of known transmission cases were the result of unprotected sexual contact between men.[11]

In 1992, the National Assembly criminalised the knowing transmission of HIV to another person.[citation needed]

LGBT rights movement in Kuwait edit

No known association or charity exists in Kuwait to campaign for LGBT rights or to organize educational and social events for the LGBT community.[12]

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.[13] All such interest groups or clubs have to be approved by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, which never formally replied.

In July 2019 the group announced that they would again apply for a permit from the ministry in response to a crackdown by the Ministry of Commerce on symbols representing homosexuality such as rainbows in shops.[13]

Summary table edit

Same-sex sexual activity legal   Up to 7 years in prison for males. Legal for females.
Equal age of consent  
Anti-discrimination laws in employment only  
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services  
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech)  
Same-sex marriages  
Recognition of same-sex couples  
Step-child adoption by same-sex couples   Adoption is not legal in Kuwait.
Joint adoption by same-sex couples   Adoption is not legal in Kuwait.
Gays and lesbians allowed to serve openly in the military   Not specifically outlawed. Social convention of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rule.
Right to change legal gender   Gender change is not legal, but crossdressing is decriminalised.
Access to IVF for lesbians   Being a lesbian is not illegal, and IVF treatment is available for all women in Kuwait.
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples   Surrogacy is not allowed for anyone in Kuwait.
MSMs allowed to donate blood   Not specifically outlawed.

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ In the study, participant data recorded included: nationality, marital status and sexual history (heterosexual and homosexual activity; premarital and extramarital sex). Of the 3,123 patients who sought normal (non-HIV) sexually transmitted disease (STD) testing (therefore had been exposed to STD risk) and those undergoing standard premarital examinations, 305 were randomly selected for HIV testing. Travel to 27 different countries in the six months prior to testing was reported amongst the sample. No HIV infection was detected, despite the sample group being considered high-risk. The authors of the second study in 1997–1998, concluded that the country's mandatory HIV screening of foreign nationals applying for residency permits accounted for the absence of infections in the non-Kuwaiti sub-group. The researchers stated they could not be certain if their results were an accurate reflection of the true HIV prevalence in the Kuwaiti community.[14]

References edit

  1. ^ https://www.mohamah.net/law/%D9%86%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B5-%D9%88-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%8A-%D8%AF%D9%88/
  2. ^ https://www.mohamah.net/law/%D9%86%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B5-%D9%88-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%8A-%D8%AF%D9%88/
  3. ^ "Gulf Cooperation Countries to test, detect then ban gays from entering their countries". LGBTWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  4. ^ Cavan Sieczkowski (10 September 2013). "Gulf Countries Propose Test To 'Detect' Gays, Ban Them From Entering". Huffington Post. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  5. ^ "Kuwaiti authorities arrest 23 'cross-dressers and homosexuals'". Middle East Eye. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  6. ^ "This controversial Instagram star was arrested and abused for being 'too feminine' in Kuwait". The New Arab. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 2019-06-26 – via Alaraby.
  7. ^ Awaidy, Salah Al; Ghazy, Ramy Mohamed; Mahomed, Ozayr (20 April 2023). "Progress of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries Towards Achieving the 95-95-95 UNAIDS Targets: A Review". Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health. 13 (3): 397–406. doi:10.1007/s44197-023-00097-1. PMC 1011647. PMID 37079171.
  8. ^ Al-Shoumer, Hind (March 31, 2010). State of Kuwait – UNGASS 2010 UNGASS Country Progress Report: 2010 Narrative Report (PDF) (Report). Kuwait: National AIDS Program, Kuwait. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2022.
  9. ^ Trenwith, Courtney (15 August 2013). "Kuwait to deport expats with infectious diseases". Arabian Business. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023.
  10. ^ UNAIDS (2017), "Country progress report – Kuwait" (PDF), Global AIDS Monitoring 2017, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, p. 13, archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2022, retrieved 19 July 2023
  11. ^ UNAIDS, "Kuwait: 2004 update" (PDF), Epidemiological Fact Sheets on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Disease, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, archived from the original (PDF) on July 3, 2007, retrieved August 21, 2007
  12. ^ Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2022). "Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses". 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Kuwait (Report). United States Department of State.
  13. ^ a b "Kuwait's gay community wants official recognition for LGBT rights". The New Arab. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-31 – via Alaraby.
  14. ^
    • Al-Owaish, R.A.; Behbehani, K. (June 1989). A survey for unrecognized HIV infection in a special STD clinic in Kuwait. 5th International Conference on AIDS, 1989. Montreal. Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2011 – via Gateway.nlm.nih.gov [Abstract].
    • Al-Owaish, R. A.; Anwar, S.; Sharma, P.; Shah, S. F. (September 2000). "HIV/AIDS prevalence among male patients in Kuwait". Saudi Medical Journal. 21 (9): 852–859. ISSN 0379-5284. PMID 11376363.

Further reading edit

  • Gonçalves, Pedro (28 September 2018). "Kuwait deports 13,000 foreigners in just nine months". International Investment. Retrieved 14 November 2020.

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