KUWAIT: Kuwaiti women had a significant and important role that history would never forget in confronting the Iraqi occupiers, with a record of highest degree of sacrifice for their homeland, since the gloomy date August 2, 1990. As soon as the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait took place, Kuwaiti women recorded a historical epic in defending the homeland and resisting the occupiers, leading to the liberation of the country. Examples of the heroism and sacrifices made by the women and their courage in facing the treachery of the neighbor will remain in the memory of the Kuwaitis.
Marking the 33rd anniversary of the invasion, KUNA met Thursday with families of two female martyrs Wafa Al-Amer and Suad Al-Hasan in addition to professor of political science Dr Haila Al-Mukaimi, to talk about the role of the women during this painful stage. The mother of Suad Al-Hasan, said her daughter made many heroic acts during the Iraqi invasion, even though she was only 19 years old at the time, as she stood in the face of the enemy in defense for Kuwait. Hasan joined resistance ranks from the first moments of the invasion and was a friend of the two martyrs Asrar Al-Qabandi and Wafa Al-Amer, as they together helped out the resistance, where "she was working on car bombs and detonating them with Amer and transferring weapons to resistance fighters,” she added.
Hasan was working in multiple capacities against the occupiers, she said. For example, at the Sheraton Hotel and Kaifan area she used to put toxic substances in food and distribute it to the occupiers. She also used to deliver money to the Kuwaiti resistance. Her daughter was captured in January to be martyred 20 days before Kuwait’s liberation in February 1991. The sister of martyr Wafa Al-Amer told KUNA that her sister, who was 23 years old at the time, had achieved many heroic acts. The news of the occupation of Kuwait was appalling to her, said her sister, and she never accepted it.
Amer planned to be with the resistance, as she fought the armed occupiers out of love for Kuwait. She initially joined a group of Kuwaiti youth (February 25 Force), where she transmitted news and distributed leaflets and explosive materials as needed. Because of her courageousness, she was assigned to head a resistance group, she added. She also detonated explosives in Al-Hasawi area, which was under control of the occupation forces. She blew up a restaurant in the Sulaibikhat where the Iraqi forces were stationed, as well as bombing the 12th floor of the Hilton Hotel, where the occupation forces were stationed, the sister of Al-Amer said. Her sister was happy with Amer’s achievements.
Amer was identified and then arrested in January for 20 days to be executed in February two weeks before Kuwait’s liberation. Amer was executed by hanging, with traces of torture on her body and face. Her body was dumped in front of her house in the Adailiya area, she said. The sister expressed her pride in the martyrdom for the homeland and her happiness that over these years, people still remember the martyr Wafaa Al-Amer and her heroism. Political science professor Dr Haila Al-Mukaimi told KUNA that Kuwaiti women played an active role during the Iraqi invasion, as they participated in the resistance in all its forms, including civil disobedience and martyrdom.
In all of her roles, she was the mother, sister and daughter supporting her male counterparts. Mukaimi added that Kuwaiti women presented the most beautiful images of sacrifice, represented by a group of martyrs that are all remembered to this day, such as Asrar Al-Qabandi, Suad Al-Hasan, Samira Marafi and others, to emphasize the Kuwaiti society’s rejection of the invasion and devotion to the homeland.
There is an unforgettable scene, she said, when Qabandi was featured by the famous media icon, Oprah Winfrey. Qabandi spoke to Oprah and recounted what the occupation soldiers were doing in Kuwait, including assaulting people, killing children, destroying and burning wells and sabotaging. The number of martyrs during the period of the Iraqi invasion reached 968 martyrs, 876 men and 92 women, from 14 different nationalities, in addition to illegal residents. – KUNA