Human Rights Watch urged on Kuwait on Thursday to revoke a transgender Kuwaiti woman’s conviction and modify the legislation that authorises such prosecutions. She was sentenced to two years in jail earlier this month for ‘imitating the opposite sex’ online.
According to the rights group, a court in the Gulf Arab state punished Maha al-Mutairi, who is 40 years old, with a 1,000 dinars ($3,320) fine on October 3rd for ‘misusing phone communication’ with her internet statements.
Mutairi, who has been arrested multiple times for her transgender identity, told Human Rights Watch that she fled into hiding, following her conviction. but was caught from a hotel and is currently being kept in a men’s prison in a solitary cell reserved for transgender detainees.
Article 198 of Kuwait’s penal code, which deals with indecent actions in public places, was changed in 2007 to include ‘imitating the opposite sex in any form,’ which is punished by up to a year in prison and/or a fine of 1,000 dinars.
Neighbouring country Oman changed its penal law in 2018 to penalise a man who ‘publicly appears in the likeness of women in his attire or garb’ with a fine and a sentence of one month to a year in prison.
Post Your Comments