Women no longer need husband’s OK for passports

If you’re a woman living in Kuwait, getting your own passport used to mean one extra step most men never had to think about: your husband’s signature. That step is now gone.

Kuwait’s constitutional court has struck down part of a law from 1962 that said a married woman could only get a passport, or leave the country, with her husband’s written approval. The court ruled this clashes with the Kuwaiti constitution, which guarantees personal freedom and equal treatment under the law. It’s a change that touches something very ordinary – renewing travel documents, booking a trip, or just planning to visit family abroad – and it comes not long after our coverage of the new personal status law changes affecting women’s rights.

What actually happened in court?

The case began with one family’s dispute. A Kuwaiti mother wanted passports for herself and her children so they could travel. Her husband refused to give his consent, which under the old law meant she couldn’t get the documents at all.

She took the matter to Kuwait’s constitutional court, the body that checks whether laws match the country’s constitution. The court agreed with her. It found that the requirement for a husband’s sign-off violated the constitution’s promise of personal freedom and equal rights for men and women.

This isn’t the first time Kuwait’s courts have stepped into family matters that affect how women live their daily lives. Readers may remember our report on the court decision that a mother’s move abroad doesn’t cancel her custody rights, another ruling that put a mother’s independence ahead of older, stricter rules.

So who does this affect?

This change applies to Kuwaiti women under Kuwaiti law. It doesn’t directly change passport or travel rules for expat residents in Kuwait, since those are governed by separate residency and sponsorship rules tied to work and family visas. But it’s still relevant if you live here – it shows the direction Kuwait’s courts are taking on personal freedom cases, and it may shape how similar disputes are handled for residents down the line.

For Kuwaiti women specifically, the practical effect is simple: you no longer need written permission from your husband before getting your own passport or travelling. The court case that triggered this was exactly that scenario – a mother blocked from getting documents for herself and her children.

You can find more on how these kinds of rulings are covered under our local news section, where we track changes to family and residency law as they happen.

Why Saudi Arabia is paying attention

The ruling didn’t stay a Kuwait-only story. In Saudi Arabia, both women and men welcomed the decision, and several told Arab News they hope it pushes similar change across the Gulf.

Samia Al-Idrissi, a businesswoman in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, said Kuwaiti women now have rights they’ve fought for over a long time. She argued Saudi women are equally capable of making their own decisions and shouldn’t be treated as second-class citizens. She also pointed out an inconsistency closer to home: Saudi widows still need their adult sons’ consent to travel, even though, as she put it, a mother who has lost her husband understands her own values well enough to decide for herself.

Ehsan Al-Ahmed, a 52-year-old mother of four and former school principal, said a grown married woman is mature enough to make her own choices. She questioned the logic of a husband signing papers for his wife to travel alone – since once she’s abroad, he’s not the one responsible for her anyway.

Maha Akeel, managing editor of The Journal, a publication of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, said she believes the Kuwaiti court balanced an Islamic perspective with human rights principles in reaching its decision.

Support also came from Saudi men. Businessman Yasin Alireza said women should be free to travel whenever and wherever they choose, adding that