Stories about Kuwait

Kuwait: Struggle of the Bedoon Takes Root Online

  22 February 2012

Since the beginning of the so-called Arab Spring, that has brought to the forefront the atrocities Arabs face at the hands of their ruling clans, Kuwait's stateless population, which numbers more than 120,000, has been struggling to make its voice heard. Stateless blogger Mona Kareem has taken the struggle online.

Kuwait: Parliamentary Election Marred by Violence

  3 February 2012

Incidents of violence have marked Kuwait's parliamentary elections. One candidate, Mohammed Al-Juwaihel, became the target of angry tribespeople after making discriminatory remarks and his election tent hub was burnt down. Mona Kareem provides a multimedia report.

Kuwait: Online Advocacy for the Stateless Bidoun

  22 December 2011

Since hundreds of Kuwait's 100,000 strong Bidoun were attacked by police for protesting in support of others detained earlier in the year, a number of bloggers and international organizations have been stepping up their support for the stateless people in the hope of drawing attention to their plight.

Kuwait: Stateless Protesters Attacked for Demanding Rights

  21 December 2011

Arrests, beatings and harassment face protesters championing for the rights of 100,000 stateless in Kuwait, struggling to have the rights to documents, education, health care, employment, and most importantly naturalization. Mona Kareem takes a look at protests over the past few days in Kuwait and the police crackdown that followed.

Kuwait: A New Prime Minister and Detainees Bailed Out

  5 December 2011

More than two weeks after protesters stormed the Kuwaiti Parliament, the country has a new Prime Minister. Netizens comment on the 'new era,' political action and the detention, hunger strike and release of protesters arrested for breaking into the Parliament. The protesters have been released on bail, pending trial. Here are netizen reactions to the country's latest developments.

Kuwait: Protesters Storm the National Assembly

  18 November 2011

Thousands of angry Kuwaitis stormed the National Assembly building on Wednesday 16 November, after police and security forces clashed with protestors. Kuwait's political sphere has been extremely tense in the past few years, and with the Arab Spring earlier this year, the situation took a new turn.

Kuwait: Video Campaign to Teach Citizens about the Constitution

  16 November 2011

To mark the 49th anniversary of the Kuwaiti constitution, a group of activists decided to remind citizens of the different clauses of the constitution. Under the theme of Tadry [ar] (Did you know?), Sout Al-Kuwait (Voice of Kuwait) produced six videos, each spanning a few seconds, explaining to citizens six select articles from the constitution.

Kuwait: Fined for Bad Breath

  18 August 2011

From Kuwait, Mark shares a news item about an Arab motorist who was fined by a policeman for “having bad breath.” “If they’re issuing tickets for bad breath then my previous joke about how sunglasses should be banned might actually happen,” he blogs.

Syria: World Cities Rally Against and For Bashar

  11 August 2011

Events in Syria are being echoed around the world. Syrians in the diaspora rallied in the majority of the cities in the world, either asking to overthrow Bashar Al Assad and his regime or chanting their love to their leader. Check out this video round up for footage from demonstrations worldwide.

MENA: Can a Hashtag Spread Hatred?

  10 August 2011

Over the past few days, more than 250,000 Israelis have protested in the streets of Tel Aviv and other cities over the rising costs of housing and food. Tarek Amr examines how a derogatory hashtag used by Arab Twitter users to comment on the protests in Israel has sparked debate on both sides.

Kuwait: Bidun fly “Freedom Balloons”

  29 July 2011

A month ago, the stateless community of Kuwait started a 3 day-long campaign of “flipping your twitter avatar” to catch the media's attention and highlight their cause for the world. This Friday, they've made another campaign to set balloons in the air, calling them “freedom balloons". Mona Kareem shares the story.

Kuwait: Bloggers Fight Internet Companies

  18 July 2011

In the past two months, Kuwaiti bloggers have campaigned against Internet companies in Kuwait which are enforcing a policy of limited bandwidth, steeply raising prices in the past year by agreeing between each other on the same prices, and killing the competition in the Internet market. Mona Kareem expands on this protest.

Kuwait: Flip Your Avatar, Show Support to the Bidun!

  26 June 2011

Kuwait has around 100,000 stateless people or Bidun - meaning without nationality. They have no papers, ID cards, access to government education and health care, birth or death certificates. With Arabs rising this year, the Bidun of Kuwait are making their voices heard, both on the ground and via social media, asking people to "flip their avatars" in support.

Kuwait: Shia Twitter User Arrested

  10 June 2011

Kuwaiti Nasser Abul, a young Shia man, has been arrested, allegedly for his posting on micro-blogging site Twitter. This is the first time a Twitter user is held for tweets in the country. The arrest has created a furour on Twitter, where many called for his release.