Coeducation in Kuwait
Encyclopedia
Coeducation in Kuwait has been a contentious issue since the Islamists gained power in parliament in the 1990s.
In 1996, conservative Kuwaiti lawmakers banned co-ed classes at the state universities and technical colleges, including Kuwait University
. The ban prohibited mixing of the sexes in classes, libraries, cafeterias, labs, and extracurricular activities at Kuwait University. Compliance was lax until 1997, when Education Minister Misaed Haroun committed to full segregation by the end of the next school year.
In 2000, when foreign universities were first allowed to open branches in Kuwait, the ban was extended to those institutions as well.
On February 6, 2008, MP Ali Al-Rashid
proposed a bill that would allow men and women to take classes together in Kuwaiti universities, which would reverse the 12-year-old ban on coeducation. On the topic, Al-Rashid said: "Kuwait University
was established in the 1960s as a co-ed university. Segregating students only came in 1996. If we are to go back to the origin of things, Kuwait University then is originally a co-ed facility. Religion is clear about this subject."
On the same day that he proposed the bill, Al-Rashid allegedly received a death threat. According to Al-Rashid, an angry man left a threatening message at Al-Rashid's office. "If he doesn't withdraw the bill, seven bullets will settle the matter," Al-Rashid described the caller as saying in the course of an insult-filled rant. Al-Rashid said police told him they arrested a suspect and he was being interrogated. Soon afterwards, police told Al-Rashid that they had apprehended and were interrogating a suspect in the threat, a retired civil servant.
According to Al-Rashid, university teachers and officials have complained it has been difficult and costly to teach male and female students separately. Among Kuwait's neighbors, state universities are coed in Bahrain
and Oman
, but segregated in Saudi Arabia
, Qatar
, and the United Arab Emirates
. Conservative lawmakers want to extend the ban to foreign primary and secondary schools. Kuwaiti primary and secondary schools are already gender segregated.
On February 28, 2008, political activist and Kuwait University
professor Dr Mohammad Dohaim Al-Deferi criticised Al-Rashid's push for coeducation, arguing that even prominent figures like US President George W Bush supported the idea of establishing schools that segregated the sexes. He argued that MPs should concentrate more on other important issues and implement developmental plans instead of focusing on this issue.
In 1996, conservative Kuwaiti lawmakers banned co-ed classes at the state universities and technical colleges, including Kuwait University
Kuwait University
Kuwait University was established in October 1966, five years after Kuwait's independence from British Colonization. KU started with only two faculties, namely the Faculty of Science, Arts and Education; and a Women's College. The university had 418 students enrolled and 31 faculty members. By ,...
. The ban prohibited mixing of the sexes in classes, libraries, cafeterias, labs, and extracurricular activities at Kuwait University. Compliance was lax until 1997, when Education Minister Misaed Haroun committed to full segregation by the end of the next school year.
In 2000, when foreign universities were first allowed to open branches in Kuwait, the ban was extended to those institutions as well.
On February 6, 2008, MP Ali Al-Rashid
Ali Al-Rashid
Ali Al-Rashid is a member of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, representing the second district. Born in 1967, Al-Rashid worked as a lawyer before being elected to the National Assembly in 2003...
proposed a bill that would allow men and women to take classes together in Kuwaiti universities, which would reverse the 12-year-old ban on coeducation. On the topic, Al-Rashid said: "Kuwait University
Kuwait University
Kuwait University was established in October 1966, five years after Kuwait's independence from British Colonization. KU started with only two faculties, namely the Faculty of Science, Arts and Education; and a Women's College. The university had 418 students enrolled and 31 faculty members. By ,...
was established in the 1960s as a co-ed university. Segregating students only came in 1996. If we are to go back to the origin of things, Kuwait University then is originally a co-ed facility. Religion is clear about this subject."
On the same day that he proposed the bill, Al-Rashid allegedly received a death threat. According to Al-Rashid, an angry man left a threatening message at Al-Rashid's office. "If he doesn't withdraw the bill, seven bullets will settle the matter," Al-Rashid described the caller as saying in the course of an insult-filled rant. Al-Rashid said police told him they arrested a suspect and he was being interrogated. Soon afterwards, police told Al-Rashid that they had apprehended and were interrogating a suspect in the threat, a retired civil servant.
According to Al-Rashid, university teachers and officials have complained it has been difficult and costly to teach male and female students separately. Among Kuwait's neighbors, state universities are coed in Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
and Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
, but segregated in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, and the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. Conservative lawmakers want to extend the ban to foreign primary and secondary schools. Kuwaiti primary and secondary schools are already gender segregated.
On February 28, 2008, political activist and Kuwait University
Kuwait University
Kuwait University was established in October 1966, five years after Kuwait's independence from British Colonization. KU started with only two faculties, namely the Faculty of Science, Arts and Education; and a Women's College. The university had 418 students enrolled and 31 faculty members. By ,...
professor Dr Mohammad Dohaim Al-Deferi criticised Al-Rashid's push for coeducation, arguing that even prominent figures like US President George W Bush supported the idea of establishing schools that segregated the sexes. He argued that MPs should concentrate more on other important issues and implement developmental plans instead of focusing on this issue.