Bedoon, abbreviated from the Arabic term (بدون جنسية) i.e. “without nationality”, are stateless minorities who, in spite of being long-term dwellers of Kuwait, have been systematically denied their citizenship right, further classified as “illegal residents”. Following decades of suppression, the Bedoons encounter multiple hitches when attempting to obtain civil documents, education, employment, healthcare, and social services, as well as marriage rights and passing their nationality to their children.

The majority of the Bedoons came from nomadic tribes native to the Arabian Peninsula and established themselves in Kuwait in the late 1950s when the country gained independence from the British colonialization. Nevertheless, many of them failed to register as citizens due to legislation set out in the 1959 Nationality Law. Consequently, they were denied citizenship; despite these struggles, their plight has been largely met with brazen silence from the international community.

Despite promises from the Kuwaiti government to solve these issues surrounding statelessness, repeated amendments to the Nationality Law have made access to Kuwaiti citizenship progressively more difficult. An estimated one-third of the population of Kuwait was previously classified as Bedoon, with non-governmental estimations recently asserting that there are over 100K Bedoons, as official numbers are difficult to ascertain. Some activists claim official numbers are whitewashed, estimating their exact number is 240K.

During Saddam’s aggression, some Bedoons sided with the latter and were consequently banished from the Kuwaiti society, further stoking prejudice that was held against them. Since the 1990s, Kuwait has established various bodies like the Executive Committee for Illegal Residents’ Affairs (ECIR) to look into this matter; however, little progress has been made.

In November 2010, it set up the Bedoon Committee, which announced a 5-year-plan to resolve the crisis by supposedly granting nationality status to those entitled to it. Though, their naturalization has been quite complex. Ever since, they have increasingly been threatened with mass arrests, detention, and general societal persecution.

Intolerant Policy

The discriminatory practice against the Bedoons is exacerbated by the unofficial procedure they have to go through in order to get married. While all citizens have the privilege of straightforward procedures, the Bedoons have one degrading method, which is through the false confession of adultery to the police. Although they are innocent, the documentation of a woman committing adultery compels a general recognition of marriage within the conservative Kuwaiti society.

It is estimated that roughly 4K Kuwaiti women are married to Bedoon husbands; nevertheless, Kuwaiti mothers cannot pass on their citizenship to their children under the law. Since a Bedoon father is stateless, his children are automatically stateless, illegal residents, denied civil identification, driving license, or travel documents, barred from accessing the most fundamental rights, and under constant risk of arrest.

As a result, hundreds of Bedoon possess no documents and often have to rely on charity to survive. Due to their discrimination, Bedoons are often forced to pay higher fees for essential medical care they cannot obtain at public medical facilities.

In addition, Bedoon parents must also send their children to private schools, which generally provide lower standard education, and it is common for girls to be excluded entirely from receiving an education. They likewise struggle to afford their children’s higher education, and are thus confronted with potential deportation if they fail to secure a work permit or employment.

This discrimination has led to several cases of suicide as an expression of frustration. In response, activists often organize peaceful sit-ins to raise awareness of the issue. However, the authorities arrest the organizers without prior warrants under the pretext of threatening national security. Human Rights Watch and other rights groups have repeatedly noted that the authorities’ response imposes more restrictions and coercion on the Bedoons, rather than respectfully addressing their grievance, and this comes in violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to which Kuwait is a state party. 

The Ongoing Hunger Strike

Two weeks have passed and the Kuwaiti government continues to ignore the sufferings of the Bedoons, who have been on hunger strike, since March 28, in Al-Sulaibiya Square in the Kuwaiti Jahra Governorate.  Their battle of empty stomachs aims at putting an end to the recklessness practiced by the government toward their natural demand for a decent life. The authorities are intransigent on the pretext that further naturalization harms the public interest of the state; however, the Bidoon’s cause is broader than this strike, as when the deliberate exclusion of this social component intensifies, Kuwait will definitely face a time bomb.

When the Bidoon decided to stage their sit-in in Al-Sulaibiya Square, they realized that they are going to challenge various scenarios, including the use of force to disperse them or the continued ignoring of their demands by official authorities. However, others believe that their goal, currently, lies in documenting their plight through media, which may root their fundamental demands, expand the circle of solidarity, and inevitably increase pressure on official bodies.

It is noteworthy that neither religion nor the rooted societal customs have done justice to these people from persecution, especially since Kuwait is a pioneer in preserving freedoms and human rights in the Gulf. The strike came to inaugurate a new phase that needs to be immunized from suppression or control, yet this step is not sufficient unless it is fenced off with persistent steps well-matched to international laws, because the opposite lobby in the Kuwaiti government is quite powerful and uses various tools to obliterate their plight. The strike aims to change the Kuwaiti government’s policy toward them and hold those involved in violations of their rights accountable.