Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense

KUWAIT: Kuwait yesterday allowed women to register for military service as special officers, noncommissioned officers and personnel. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah issued yesterday a ministerial decision to open registration for Kuwaiti women to join national military service, where applicants will serve in the field of medical and military support in the initial stage.

"Kuwaiti women have proven their achievements in several fields, and accordingly approval was given for women to enter the military corps along with men," he said. Sheikh Hamad added that the decision "comes from the role and responsibility of the Kuwaiti army in protecting the country and maintaining its security and stability from any external danger, providing support to government agencies to face any internal developments and to enable Kuwaiti citizens to join the honor of military service".

He stressed his full confidence in "the ability, possibility and willingness of Kuwaiti women to endure the hardship of working in the army, and that they will succeed in this experience because they eagerly look forward to serving and protecting their country, defending its interests and maintaining its security and stability".

Sheikh Hamad pointed out that in view of the competence and dedication of Kuwaiti women in their work by taking on engineering and medical jobs in various sectors of the ministry of defense, "this encouraged us to make this decision". He recalled the heroic roles, tasks and actions of Kuwaiti women over the past years to serve and defend their country, particularly during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in 1990, as well as their contribution to addressing the coronavirus pandemic in cooperation with their medical colleagues.

Kuwaiti women have witnessed significant progress in their rights over the years. In 2005, a bill was passed to grant Kuwaiti women the right to vote and run for elected office. Four years later, four female candidates won parliamentary seats in a general election out of 50 available seats. In 2008, Saad Al-Abdullah Academy for Security Sciences decided to open registration for women to join the Kuwaiti police force. Furthermore, the number of female judges in Kuwait rose to 15 after seven new female judges were accepted in May. - Agencies