KUWAIT CITY, Jan 4: MP Salwa Al-Jassar, Rapporteur of the Women and Family Affairs Committee, announced on Tuesday that a second round of discussions was completed to modify the Foreign Residency Law and Civil Services Law. The modifications will grant Kuwaiti women further societal and employment rights.

The modifications on the Foreign Residency Law will exempt the children of Kuwaiti women with non-Kuwaiti fathers from sponsorship fees. They will also allow Kuwaiti women to sponsor their non-Kuwaiti husbands, Al-Jassar announced.

Regarding the Civil Services Law, Al-Jassar further said, the modifications will give the female Kuwaiti employee the right to obtain a social allowance if her husband cannot do so. The same goes for foreign women married to Kuwaiti men, depending on the number of children.
The Kuwaiti women can also obtain a 70-day maternity leave, apart from her annual leave, with full pay. Furthermore, an additional four month leave must be granted for maternity care with full pay, among other amendments.

“These changes will greatly benefit Kuwaiti women, granting them personal freedom. This applies specially for women working in the government sector,” Al-Jassar said.
Meanwhile, the Legal and Legislative Committee decided to establish a National Authority for Consumer Protection and a National Office for Human Rights. The committee has also endorsed using DNA as a proof of lineage and heritage and granted a retirement salary for military officials who were previously not included in the system.

Furthermore, MP Ali Al-Omair said the Parliament office has met with the Executive Chairman of the central agency to address the situation of illegal residents (Bedoun), Saleh Al-Fadalah. The meeting discussed the authority plans to resolve the problem.