Gender Discrimination and Quality of Life of Women in Kuwait and North Korea

Running head: ESSAY ASSIGNMENT
Essay Assignment
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ESSAY ASSIGNMENT
Introduction
Gender discrimination, over the years, has experienced considerable dynamics and
variations in different countries across the world. Globally this discrimination among the male
and female population has been prevalent in all domains of life, economic, social, cultural and
political, thereby creating considerable differences in the overall quality of life of the male and
the female population1. While many countries have succeeded considerably with time in
reducing the discrimination and in improving the overall quality of life of their female
population, gender disparities are still primary issues of concern in many others, especially in the
developing and low developed countries, even in the contemporary periods.
Keeping the above-discussed problems in consideration, the essay tries to analyze and
discuss extensively about the scenario of overall quality of life of female population in one of the
impressively progressing countries, Kuwait. It also tries to find the level of difficulties which the
women in the concerned country faces in achieving equalities and better qualities in all the
spheres of life, especially in economic and cultural aspects2. The essay also highlights the
conditions in the same aspect in another country, North Korea to compare the well-being of
women in Kuwait vis-à-vis North Korea.
Women in Kuwait
Situated near the Persian Gulf, the Arabian country of Kuwait has experienced
considerable economic progress over the last few decades and is currently considered as one of
the most industrially and commercially prospective Arabian countries. The residents of the
1 Bose, Christine E. "Intersectionality and global gender inequality." Gender & Society 26.1 (2012): 67-72.
2 Steans, Jill. Gender and international relations. John Wiley & Sons, 2013.

2ESSAY ASSIGNMENT
country experience a superior quality of life and economic abundance of the country is
comparatively higher than many countries in the world3.
The country, compared to other Arabian and Middle Eastern countries has achieved
significant success in terms of gender related development and currently ranks 37th in the Global
Index of Gender Related Development of UNDP. This gender related development in the country
has specifically increased in the recent periods, with the government of the country taking
appropriate steps for the same.
However, there remains discrimination and disparities in the overall quality of life among
the male and female population in the country. In spite of being one of the highly developing
countries in the global scenario, the women in the country received their voting rights in 2005.
Before that, they were denied this fundamental right and the right to stand for parliamentary
elections4. The cultural disparities in the overall life quality of women in Kuwait is not
constrained to voting rights only, women in the country experience comparative inferiority in
terms of security in domestic as well as workplaces. Spousal rape is not an institutionalized
crime in the country and the driving rights of women are also subjected to a lot of restrictions.
Nearly 40% of working women in the country still now experience harassment in their daily
workplaces5.
3 Hrw.org, 'Kuwait: Promises Betrayed - Discrimination Against Women' (Hrw.org, 2018)
<https://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/kuwait/kuwait-05.htm> accessed 20 February 2018.
4 Kabeer, Naila, and Luisa Natali. "Gender Equality and Economic Growth: Is there a Win‐Win?." IDS Working
Papers2013.417 (2013): 1-58.
5 Charrad, Mounira M. "Family law reforms in the Arab world: Tunisia and Morocco." Report for the United
Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), Division for Social Policy and Development,
Expert Group Meeting, New York. 2012.