Kuwaiti liberals: ‘No’ to segregation

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Educators in the country expressed their outrage towards a recent circular instructing them to segregate males and females in school activities which include, as the circular said, "school trips, sports activities, camps, etc.
Abdulrahman Al-Tawheed, the chairperson of Kuwait’s Association for Non-Profit Societies said that the law was issued twelve years ago in 1996. "Ever since, we have read many reports written by university professors stating that segregating sexes in campus led to a big deterioration in the level of education in the country." He added that "issuing such a law questions our belief and faith in our youth." Al-Tawheed also stressed that it is the role of the family to teach the youth morals and ethics.

MP Ali Al-Rashed, who was recently threatened with "seven bullets" by historian and poet Saud Al-Jamran, expressed his joy to see the large number of people who showed their interest in the issue and came to the protest to show their concern. Al-Rashed described Islamists’ justifications to segregate students under the name of morals and traditions as ‘fake’ and ‘invented’. "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," he said.

When males and females are together in public, in a university campus, why are we accused of being infidels who call for corruption?" he wondered. He stressed on the importance of the responsibility of individuals to stop extremist ideology from taking over the freedom of nationals.

Among the speakers was also social and political activist Luluwa Al-Qatami, who expressed her disappointment at the current situation. "Kuwait has been sending students on scholarships to co-ed universities since the 1950s. How does the government allow students to go to co-ed universities in countries that are away from our culture and our traditions, while forbidding them from have that kind of education here in Kuwait in front of our own eyes?" she asked. "Isn’t that a very big contradiction? Is this th
e only issue that’s important to the government and the parliament? Why do they not try to look at the problems like our declining health facilities, for example?

Nora Al-Ghanim, owner of American Universal School, spoke on behalf of private school owners. In her speech she stressed on the importance of co-education in preparation for students to lead successful lives in their future in the actual world. "It is a right of the parents to choose which school they enlist their children in," she said. "The next elections are close now. We should all be aware of who we are voting for, and we should vote for the betterment of our country, not for our own personal interest
s," she concluded.

Maram Al-Otaibi, a student in a co-ed private school, had a word to say on behalf of Kuwait’s youth. "For eleven years I have been spending most of my days with a family I have formed at school – of boys and girls. It’s not the right of anyone to take that family away from me," she said. "Our parents want what’s good for us. They see that studying in a private school is for our benefit. They have the freedom of choice.

She also bravely defended students from being accused as ‘corrupt’. "By calling us corrupt, they are calling their own sons and daughters corrupt. Kuwait is a small country and families marry into each other." She also mentioned that these ‘corrupt’ people are actually raising high the name of Kuwait by excelling at school and getting scholarships in the world’s biggest and most reputable countries.

 

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