In Kuwait, a symposium (Advocacy and Politics, Where Do They Fulfill?) organized by the Abolish 153 Campaign was held. The topic of it was violence against women. Human Rights activists and Political activists from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Georgia took part in the symposium.

Human rights defenders talked about the legislative shortcomings and the need for legislative amendments in different countries in terms of women’s rights protection.

The Abolish 153 campaign demands the removal of Article 153 from the Kuwaiti Criminal Code, which grants men regulatory, judicial and executive powers over the female members of their families. This is an apparent neglect of the country’s constitution and international agreements on women’s rights. Such a thing cannot be found even in the Islamic Law /Sharia.

According to the above-mentioned law, if a man unmasks a unsavory sexual act (zinna) of a female member of his family (mother, sister or wife) and kills a woman or her partner, the punishment is  imprisonment up to 3 years, or imposition of a fine of 3000 rupees.

Despite the fact that there proved to be many problems in terms of protection of women’s rights, the main focus of the symposium was to address issues related to the amendment of the relevant law in Kuwait.

The discussion was led by Dr. Alanoud Al-Sharekh. At the symposium Baia Pataraia talked about the problems faced by women in Georgia. She noted that women are in trouble in every country and violence against women is everywhere. The head of the ‘Sapari’ emphasized the importance of the law, the efficiency of law enforcement and the role of mentality and traditions. “Every state is obliged to protect its population, including women; The protection of women is the obligation of a state rather than a family, and it should be carried out  by the power of law and state apparatus, “- she said.

Among the participants there were Also member of the Kuwaiti National Assembly Omar Al-Tabtabaie, Abolish 153 Campaign member Sundus Hussain, Maha Al-Muneef  from Worldwide League for Avoidance of Youngster Abuse and Neglect, and  Ghanem Al-Najjar, who spoke about acute and immediate solutions to violence against women in Kuwaiti legislation. The Kuwaiti MP said he would definitely try to convince other legislators of the country that Article 153 of the penal code should be abolished, and added that this amendment should be not only a legislative but a cultural and systematic step in the consciousness of people.