Kuwaiti housewives to get KD559 monthly salary
7,000 women seek monthly payment
KUWAIT: Any Kuwaiti housewife who has attained the age of 55 years but does not enjoy any income will now be entitled to receive a monthly payment of KD559 starting last Monday, provided she met certain requirements. According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, about 7,000 women applied for this salary, and 90 percent of them met the conditions and will receive this payment.
Some women are receiving monthly income in the form of retirement allowance or social support such as allowances meant for mothers of disabled citizens or others, running into amounts less than KD 559. In such cases, the women will receive the amount after deducting from it the monthly income already being received. Those with private businesses running under commercial licenses in their names are not entitled to receive this salary.
Lulwa Al-Mulla, Chairperson of the Kuwait Women Cultural and Social Society, criticized the new decision saying it was not in favor of the women. “This payment aims to encourage the Kuwaiti woman to retire or to stay at home rather than become a productive person in her work and career. It aims to further alienate her from the work place. Why did the woman learn and educate herself if they are to end up sitting at home and receive a social payment from the government? I think that the amount will act as an incentive for women to leave their work and stay at home,” she told the Kuwait Times yesterday
lthough the law was proposed by women MPs, it still came under criticism from the Women’s Society. “It is not necessary that the women MPs are always right. In the end, their aim is to promote themselves and garner more votes to win the elections. This law doesn’t want the women to play their due role as one half of the society and does not want them to be partners in work. The women will be isolated by making them give up their careers. The government should instead encourage women to work and study to obtain degrees,” added Al-Mulla.
According to her, such allowances put addi- tional pressure on the national budget. “Our economy is based on oil which will not last forever. This amount will increase the public expenditure, and this money could have been spent on more important concerns. In my view, this decision needs a review as it really is not such a bright idea as it seems from the outside,” she pointed out.
On his part, Hajaj Bukhadour, an economic analyst, agreed with Al-Mulla that the law was not in favor of women. “This decision was not in keeping with the idea of development and it only adds to the aberrations in the Kuwaiti economy. This is an irresponsible decision that stops creativity and only encourages lack of responsibility in the community. There are more cons than pros, as it will result in loss of huge manpower. Also, many women employees under the age of 55 will feel disappointed by this decision, as they feel their work is not being appreciated properly despite their long years of working, especially since in Kuwait women are more productive than men,” he explained.
“After 20 or more years spent at work, women are being made to feel they are not important. They would not be interested in work anymore as they will not be receiving the same benefits as given to men. It destroys any woman’s personality. I think this law was not even discussed from this point of view,” he further said.
He also said that this payment will increase the pressure on the Kuwaiti economy and will cause more problems. “The MPs who proposed this law and passed it were mainly looking for personal and electoral benefits to gain votes and not as a matter of development,” concluded Bukhadour.