Boys will be boys - or else
Kuwaitis who defy very narrowly defined gender stereotypes now face prison or a hefty fine
by Brian Whitaker
January 23, 2008 2:00 PM | Printable version
In his book Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the prominent religious scholar, writes:
"The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared that a woman should not wear a man's clothing or vice versa. He cursed men who imitate women and women who imitate men ...
"The evil of such conduct, which affects both the life of the individual and that of the society, is that it constitutes a rebellion against the natural ordering of things. According to this natural order, there are men and there are women, and each of the two sexes has its own distinctive characteristics. However, if men become effeminate and women masculinised, this natural order will be reversed and will disintegrate.
"Among those who are cursed by Allah and His Angels, both in this world and in the Hereafter, the Prophet, peace and blessings be on him, has mentioned the man whom Allah has created as male but who becomes effeminate by imitating women, and a woman whom Allah has created as female but who becomes masculinised by imitating men. For this reason the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade men from wearing clothes or things pertaining to women."
According to the website IslamOnline, "Aspects of such imitation include the manner of speaking, walking, dressing, moving, and so on."
Quoting a Saudi scholar, Sheikh Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid, it continues: "Wearing adornments on the wrist and neck, and on the ears is an imitation of women, as this is something that is only for women. So it is not permissible for men to wear bracelets, earrings, anklets, or chains."
The Kuwaiti parliament has now taken this religious advice to heart: on December 10, it amended the penal code so that anyone "imitating the appearance of a member of the opposite sex" could be jailed for up to a year or fined up to 1,000 dinars (£1,790).
Since then, at least 14 people have been arrested in Kuwait City and thrown into prison for the new offence, according to Human Rights Watch. Several were picked up at police checkpoints, one in a coffee shop and two more in a taxi.
A Kuwaiti newspaper said the "confused" men were "deposited in the special ward" of Tahla prison, and that prison guards shaved their heads "as a form of punishment".
Citing friends of the accused, Human Rights Watch said three of them had been beaten (one of them into unconsciousness) , and all denied access to lawyers.
The Kuwaiti parliament is dominated by conservatives and Islamists who have also been trying to oust the only female member of the country's cabinet. The move against "opposite sex" dressing follows a report last September that the government was launching a campaign "to combat the growing phenomenon of gays and transsexuals".
Human Right Watch believes the new law is particularly targeting transgender people, whose rights are already heavily restricted in Kuwait (they are not allowed to have gender reassignment surgery or to change their legal identity). The treatment of the 14 detainees is also a breach of Kuwait's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the New York-based organisation says.
Several Kuwait MPs have already reacted strongly to the protests from Human Rights Watch.
Duaij al-Shimmari, a member of the Islamic Constitutional Movement, said: "Non-believers have their religion and we have ours ... We will not allow anyone to interfere with our religious beliefs."
Dr Ali al-Omair, a Salafist MP, accused the human rights organisation of luring other nations to practise vice and lewdness in the name of personal freedom, while Faisal al-Muslim, who heads a parliamentary committee monitoring "practices alien to Kuwaiti society", said: "The law criminalising people who imitate the appearance of the opposite sex must be implemented and respected ... Kuwait should ignore any international criticism."
Kuwaitis who defy very narrowly defined gender stereotypes now face prison or a hefty fine
by Brian Whitaker
January 23, 2008 2:00 PM | Printable version
In his book Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the prominent religious scholar, writes:
"The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared that a woman should not wear a man's clothing or vice versa. He cursed men who imitate women and women who imitate men ...
"The evil of such conduct, which affects both the life of the individual and that of the society, is that it constitutes a rebellion against the natural ordering of things. According to this natural order, there are men and there are women, and each of the two sexes has its own distinctive characteristics. However, if men become effeminate and women masculinised, this natural order will be reversed and will disintegrate.
"Among those who are cursed by Allah and His Angels, both in this world and in the Hereafter, the Prophet, peace and blessings be on him, has mentioned the man whom Allah has created as male but who becomes effeminate by imitating women, and a woman whom Allah has created as female but who becomes masculinised by imitating men. For this reason the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade men from wearing clothes or things pertaining to women."
According to the website IslamOnline, "Aspects of such imitation include the manner of speaking, walking, dressing, moving, and so on."
Quoting a Saudi scholar, Sheikh Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid, it continues: "Wearing adornments on the wrist and neck, and on the ears is an imitation of women, as this is something that is only for women. So it is not permissible for men to wear bracelets, earrings, anklets, or chains."
The Kuwaiti parliament has now taken this religious advice to heart: on December 10, it amended the penal code so that anyone "imitating the appearance of a member of the opposite sex" could be jailed for up to a year or fined up to 1,000 dinars (£1,790).
Since then, at least 14 people have been arrested in Kuwait City and thrown into prison for the new offence, according to Human Rights Watch. Several were picked up at police checkpoints, one in a coffee shop and two more in a taxi.
A Kuwaiti newspaper said the "confused" men were "deposited in the special ward" of Tahla prison, and that prison guards shaved their heads "as a form of punishment".
Citing friends of the accused, Human Rights Watch said three of them had been beaten (one of them into unconsciousness) , and all denied access to lawyers.
The Kuwaiti parliament is dominated by conservatives and Islamists who have also been trying to oust the only female member of the country's cabinet. The move against "opposite sex" dressing follows a report last September that the government was launching a campaign "to combat the growing phenomenon of gays and transsexuals".
Human Right Watch believes the new law is particularly targeting transgender people, whose rights are already heavily restricted in Kuwait (they are not allowed to have gender reassignment surgery or to change their legal identity). The treatment of the 14 detainees is also a breach of Kuwait's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the New York-based organisation says.
Several Kuwait MPs have already reacted strongly to the protests from Human Rights Watch.
Duaij al-Shimmari, a member of the Islamic Constitutional Movement, said: "Non-believers have their religion and we have ours ... We will not allow anyone to interfere with our religious beliefs."
Dr Ali al-Omair, a Salafist MP, accused the human rights organisation of luring other nations to practise vice and lewdness in the name of personal freedom, while Faisal al-Muslim, who heads a parliamentary committee monitoring "practices alien to Kuwaiti society", said: "The law criminalising people who imitate the appearance of the opposite sex must be implemented and respected ... Kuwait should ignore any international criticism."
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