Kuwait fatwa board says no to women joining military

The Fatwa Board of the Ministry of Awqaf has unanimously agreed that it is not permissible for women to be employed in the military, to wear military uniforms, or to be tried by military tribunals, according to Al Anba newspaper reports.

This comes after Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al Ali sought the opinion of clerics regarding opening the door for Kuwaiti women to join the army.

The Fatwa Board drafted a decree on women joining the army and submitted it to the concerned authority, the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, specifically to the Minister of Endowments secretly.

According to informed sources, the fatwa stipulated a number of conditions for women to work in the military, including that their work should necessarily be limited to the medical field and service matters and that they should not enter the battlefield or live in dormitories.

In October, Kuwait allowed women to enlist in the military in combat roles for the first time after years of having been restricted to civilian roles.

Kuwait’s defence minister Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al Ali Al Sabah will face today a vote of no confidence in parliament over a number of decisions, including one to allow women to enlist in the country’s military.