Many were caught, tortured, and killed. But whatever the sacrifices made and stereotypes challenged, the all-male parliament remained reluctant to extend to women full citizenship rights, theoretically guaranteed by the constitution. Opponents appeal to narrow interpretations of religious law to justify the denial of citizenship rights to women. But the real impetus for their actions is a deep anxiety over a sluggish economy and changing gender roles. Climbing unemployment among Kuwaiti youth has raised questions about male identity as a breadwinner.
Masculinity appears to be in crisis.
Women are not only beginning to dominate some sectors in the labour market, they are also moving into positions of power in government and industry. The president of Kuwait University, the under-secretary in the ministry of higher education, and the managing director of the oil industry are all women. Female suffrage would not only undermine male supremacy, but also strengthen women s power in the public sphere. Hence, throughout the 1990s, Islamists and their Bedouin supporters used different rationales to confine women to their traditional identities. They blamed rising divorce rates, child delinquency and declining family values on women s departure from their traditional roles.