Kuwait has stripped citizenship of tens of thousands of people in an overnight announcement, a move that has allegedly left thousands of women without citizenship, reports said on Monday.
Lama, (Name changed), a Kuwaiti citizen for more than 20 years, was shocked to find out that her citizenship has been revoked by the Kuwaiti government.
She learnt about the shocking decision after her credit card payment for the class in Kuwait City was declined, and her bank account was frozen.
She is among the thousands of women who acquired their citizenship through marriage. “It was a shock,” said the grandmother in her 50s, originally from Jordan.
“To be a law-abiding citizen for more than 20 years and then wake up one day to find out you’re no longer a citizen... that’s not okay at all,” she said.
The mass revocations have been cast as part of a reformist agenda spearheaded by Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who dissolved parliament and suspended parts of the constitution five months after taking power in December 2023.
His move aims to restrict citizenship to those having blood ties to the tiny oil-rich nation, reshaping Kuwaiti identity and potentially slicing its voters after five years of political crisis in the country.
Also read: Israel bombs Gaza shelter; aid workers, children among 30 dead
In a televised speech to the country of nearly five million -- only a third of them Kuwaitis -- the emir pledged in March to “deliver Kuwait to its original people clean and free from impurities."
Lama is among more than 37,000 people, including at least 26,000 women, who have lost Kuwaiti nationality since August, according to official figures.
Reports indicate the real number could be much higher. While large-scale citizenship revocations are not unheard of in Kuwait, “the volume is unprecedented," said Bader al-Saif, assistant professor of history at Kuwait University.
Follow us
