The National Assembly

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: MP Ali Al-Qattan yesterday proposed that the government should establish special shelters for women who are victims of domestic violence, saying domestic violence cases have increased during the coronavirus pandemic. Qattan said a law to establish homes to shelter all types of victims of domestic violence was issued in September last year. The law stipulates the establishment of special shelters for female victims.

But the law has not been implemented due to a lack of funding and because of the coronavirus pandemic. The lawmaker said the number of domestic violence cases has increased during the pandemic because of lockdowns and curfews that forced family members to stay longer together, resulting in tensions. As a result, he proposed that temporary homes should be established to provide shelter to female victims until the law is fully implemented.

Meanwhile, MP Osama Al-Munawer yesterday asked Commerce and Industry Minister Abdullah Al-Salman if he has authorized the allocation of government industrial plots to a company owned by a minister appointed in the latest Cabinet formation. Munawer said the company, which was granted the plots, is owned by the minister, whom he did not identify, and his first degree relatives. He asked if the minister approved the allocation or if he was aware of it.

Opposition MP Hamad Matar yesterday accused the government of imposing taxes in an indirect way, saying the interior ministry had recently started collecting KD 2 for the technical inspection of vehicles. He claimed that this represents the imposition of indirect taxation and warned that the government could extend this to other public services.