Kuwaiti women are angry after the military, having allowed female soldiers in combat roles, decided they need the permission of a male guardian and banned them from carrying weapons.
Activists have decried the policy as one step forward, two step back after defence ministry also decided that women in the armed forces, unlike civilians, must wear head coverings.
The decision has triggered an online backlash in Kuwait, usually regarded as one of the most open societies in the Gulf. The ministry decided in October to allow women in combat roles but then imposed the restrictions after the defence minister was questioned by conservative lawmaker Hamdan al-Azmi.
Earlier this month many Kuwaiti ladies staged protest against the suspension of a women’s yoga retreat deemed incident by conservatives. The debate about the army’s new rules for females has taken an absurd turn, said Ibtihal al-Khatib, an English-language professor at Kuwait University.
