S TAT E L E S S B Y D E C R E E SN A PSH OT 1 Article 8 revocations and gendered violations “Dr. Anwar Al-Fuzaie, a professor at Kuwait Universityʼs Faculty of Law, says revoking the nationality of mothers who have lived for decades as Kuwaitis tears apart the social fabric. Even if there had been an administrative error, he notes, the law clearly states that revoking an identity may strictly occur within 60 days after naturalization. Meanwhile, former MP and lawyer Mohammad Al-Dallal emphasizes that naturalization decrees issued since 1980 are legally valid, and arbitrary revocations breach constitutional protections. Former GCC Secretary-General Abdullah Yaqoub Bishara describes the policy as a deviation from Kuwaitʼs humanitarian tradition, urging the authorities to revisit their decision to protect families and the countryʼs reputation. Punishing entire Kuwaiti families over legal technicalities, he adds, is ʻillogicalʼ.” By revoking the nationality of mothers who raised Kuwaiti children and spent their lives within Kuwaiti society, the state undermines its own claims of justice and humanity. National belonging cannot be reduced to an old document in an official archive. To punish mothers and families this way is to commit violence in the name of law and to slowly strip them of their dignity under the weight of bureaucracy. Akhbar / Rakan Salem Al-Omairi - Stripped of Identity: Kuwait Revokes Womenʼs Nationality, 19 August 2025 90 Women from around 50 countries or origins comprise the largest single impacted group targeted by the GoK. On 12 December 2024, a Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) news report stated that the “Supreme Committee on Kuwaiti citizenship” (sic) had referred 3,043 revocation cases to the cabinet, of which 2,863 were under Article 8. 91 According to a 26 May 2025 report, the Ministry of Interior stated that the GoK had granted citizenship to 38,505 between 1993 and 2020; the 2024 law is reportedly applicable to marriages dating from 1987. 92 The impacted individuals include the wives of naturalised Kuwaiti men, via Article 7 of the Nationality Law, enabling their non-Kuwaiti wives to also acquire nationality. The December 2024 amendment “abolished the provision that allowed foreign women married to Kuwaiti men to obtain citizenship after five years of marriage. The retroactive part of the implementation is also very concerning as the amendment targets women who have been married for decades.” 93 37