KUWAIT CITY, Dec 7: The Marriage Officers Commission at the Ministry of Justice is studying the possibility of hiring Kuwaiti women as marriage officers, provided they have necessary licenses, reports Al-Rai daily.
Reliable sources said the commission took the step after receiving applications from many Kuwaiti women for the posts which have been so far restricted to men.
A source in the legal field supported the initiative, saying there is no reason why women cannot work as marriage officers, especially because the job doesn’t involve anything that hampers women or conflicts with their nature. Women have proved themselves in various fields, he said, adding “the job requires competence and ability to handle the contract. It doesn’t matter whether it is done by a male or female. Hence, any wise woman holding Sharia and legal license can work as marriage officer and attest and register marriage and divorce contracts.”
The source called for amending a bylaw which states that marriage officers should be male. He pointed out that the candidate should be suitably qualified for the post and gender has no role here. “In fact, all citizens should contribute in the building and development of the country,” he added.
The first woman to be appointed as marriage officer in the Gulf region is an Emirati, Fatma Saied Abeaid Al-Awani, while Amal Suleiman Afifi, an Egyptian, is the first female marriage officer at the Arab level.
Chairperson of the Kuwait Society for Ideal Family Sheikha Fareeha Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah stressed on the necessity of enacting laws and legislation to promote and protect the family structure, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.
She was speaking at a lecture ‘Health of Your Children,’ organized by the society in cooperation with Army Officers Club. Chairman of the club Lt Colonel Salem Saoud Al-Jeri, Dr Mussa Al-Jowaisar, Dr Amer Al-Saleh, Dr Sauad Al-Areefa’an and many others attended the lecture session.
Sheikha Fareeha said she was happy that people are interested in such lectures and stressed that it is very important to take care of health of children.
Dr Sauad Al-Areefa’an, speaking on the occasion, said it is necessary to protect the family from bad and negative phenomena which are spreading due to globalization and modern technology, in addition to lack of awareness and called for more such seminars on family issues, health and cultural activities for youths and so on.