Kuwait: Dress-Code Law Encourages Police Abuse Against Transgender People

Hazel Inglis/ 4:56pm/ 1/25/08/ human rights/ post 2

At least 14 people in Kuwait City have been arrested because they have violated the Criminal Code that states that: “any person committing an indecent act in a public place, or imitating the appearance of a member of the opposite sex, shall be subject to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding one thousand dinars [US$3,500].” This new Kuwaiti law has targeted transgender people – individuals born into one gender who deeply identify themselves with another. Kuwait allows transgender people neither to change their legal identity to match the gender in which they live, nor to adapt their physical appearance through gender reassignment surgery. In September 2007, the newspaper Al Arabiya reported a new government campaign “to combat the growing phenomenon of gays and transsexuals” in Kuwait. Police arrested all 14 because they believed they were “imitating the appearance of the opposite sex.” Transgender people in Kuwait now are afraid to leave their homes – even for work or to meet basic needs – for fear of arrest and ill-treatment.

All the people detained are being held in Tahla Prison. Friends of the accused believe that police and prison guards subjected the detainees to physical and psychological abuse. Al-Rai newspaper quoted police as saying that the “confused [men were] deposited in the special ward,” and that the prison administration ordered guards to shave their heads as a form of punishment. The paper quoted a prison administrator as saying “this step [shaving heads] follows the passage of the law concerning men who imitate the appearance of women.” While being held in prison, none of the detainees has access to legal representation.

There are some thing going on to help give back people’s rights and to release the 14 people imprisoned. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Kuwait has acceded, sets forth the prohibition against torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 7). Article 14 of the same treaty affirms the right to counsel. The treaty also bars interference with the right to privacy (Article 17) and protects freedom of expression (Article 19). Kuwait has the obligation to respect and ensure these rights, and to do so in a non-discriminatory manner. Hopefully there will be changes that help protect the rights and safety of the transgender people of Kuwait and to release the prisoners.

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/01/13/kenya17731.htm