Kuwait women can get passport without man's approval

PASSPORT WIN: Kuwait women can now obtain a passport without approval of their husbands. (Getty Images)

Kuwait officials have said that married women can now obtain their own passports without the consent of their husbands.

The ruling by the country’s highest court is the latest gain for women in Kuwait since they were granted the right to vote and stand for election in 2005.

According to a report by Aljazeera.net, the court said the original 1962 law which required a woman gain her husbands prior approval before traveling was a violation of her personal freedom and gender equality.

"It undermines her free will and compromises her humanity," the news website reported court documents as saying.

Fatima al-Baghli, whose husband had refused to give her and their three children their passports, was joined by thousands of Kuwaiti women who have been petitioning the courts for this right, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Aseel al-Awadhi, one of the four MPs, welcomed Tuesday's ruling as a "victory for constitutional principles".

She said the ruling "puts an end to this injustice against Kuwaiti women", but said she will continue to work to change other legislation that violates the constitution, the news website said.

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