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Citizenship rights in Kuwait were enshrined in law until recently. The country, which is largely regarded as the most democratic of the GCC states, has begun rolling back legal protections for its citizens who are not Kuwaiti by birth but instead by marriage or decree.

This growing denationalisation campaign has seen thousands become stateless since the accession of HH Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Amir of Kuwait.

Kuwait's Nationality Law provides a pathway to citizenship for Kuwaitis not born in the country or to Kuwaiti fathers.

Specifically, Article 9 contains specific provisions for female Kuwaitis who were naturalised through marriage, ensuring that their citizenship is not revoked upon the termination of that marriage.

Alongside this, protections under Articles 7, 8, and 10 set out the conditions under which a non-Kuwaiti-born woman can attain citizenship through marriage. In combination, these articles form the framework upon which thousands of women in Kuwait have relied since the law's enactment in 1959.

Since the accession of the new Amir in 2023, thousands of Kuwaiti citizens have been stripped of their citizenship in a series of developments that have seen the country take a 'distinctly more authoritarian turn'.

The Amir's suspension of Parliament in May 2024 raised questions over which route the Gulf state was likely to take. Would it follow the path of its Qatari neighbours and replace elections with appointments, or would the suspension precede a 'cooling off period' before which it would return to usual procedure?

Now, with the benefit of hindsight, the answer has become clear: Kuwait has initiated a purge of citizenships that raises questions about the strength of its democracy.

August 2024 saw the Kuwaiti authorities initiate citizenship reviews, revoking 12,000 citizenships in a campaign allegedly targeting those with dual citizenship or those accused of fraud.

Following this, amendments to the Nationality Law in December last year repealed Article 8 and expanded the grounds that citizenship could be legally revoked. The expansion included allowances for citizenship to be stripped for 'moral turpitude', dishonesty, or actions deemed to threaten state security.

This was accompanied by retroactive enforcement of the reforms, resulting in some 42,000 Kuwaitis being stripped of their citizenship since September 2024. Women are, by a large majority, the most heavily affected by these changes.

Alongside the loss of citizenship, thousands of women have had their bank accounts frozen, their passports invalidated, and their national identification cards cancelled.

Alarmingly, Kuwaiti leadership seemingly has no plans for the imminent reversal of these measures, and using citizenship as a political tool provides a stark warning that the country is on a troubling path.

Commentators have considered the economic impetus behind the movement, noting that Kuwait's reliance on oil export revenues rather than taxation of its citizens means there is high fiscal pressure on the state.

This has arguably catalysed the government's motives to reduce the number of citizens, assuming fewer citizens would alleviate pressure on Kuwait's welfare system. Similarly, this could stall plans to pursue economic diversification to decrease the country's reliance on oil export revenues.

Still, these developments capture a pattern of repressive behaviour by Sheikh Mishal's administration. The Amir has emphasised that national identity was at the top of the government's priority list, and a new wave of revocations in recent weeks has affected both ordinary citizens and notable public figures.

Moreover, he recently confirmed that he was focused on enacting reforms for the benefit of 'authentic Kuwaitis' without defining the exact parameters of what being an 'authentic' citizen entails.

Concerningly, the denationalisation campaign often involves citizens being made aware of their fatein newspaper announcements in the Kuwaiti Gazette. This has continued despite the Council of Minsters' approval of the establishment of a grievance committee to 'oversee cases of nationality withdrawal and revocation.'

This policy signals an apparent reversal of constitutional safeguards for Kuwaiti citizens. While Kuwait's long-term trajectory can only be revealed with time, recent events suggest its democratic regression shows no sign of slowing down unless the country alters its course.