 |
Kuwait's Biduns Get Flipped Avatars
Kuwait's Biduns Get Flipped Avatars
The Bidun or "stateless" people of Kuwait have lived for decades without citizenship, basic rights and access to public services. Protests for their cause have been gaining attention online, including through sympathisers flipping their profile pictures upside down.-
The Stream interviewed Mona Kareem, a Kuwaiti journalist and blogger.
-
Blogger Mona Kareem writes on Global Voices:
-
Do you know what stateless (Bidun) means in Kuwait? It means you do not exist. You have no access to public education or health care, no chance of employment in the government sector, no certificates for marriage, divorce, birth, death and no civil identification papers, driving license, passport, and definitely no citizenship.
-
Bidun means "without" in Arabic and comes from "bidun jinsiyya" or "without nationality."
-
In February, hundreds of Bidun took to the streets to demand greater rights in Kuwait. A photo montage posted on the Desert Girl on Kuwait blog:
-
There are some in Kuwait who prefer to deny the Bedoun situation is as bad as it is, and some like to say it doesn’t exist at all — stating they are allowed to work, get an education, travel, etc. Clearly the information they have is limited… or non-existent. I challenge those doubters to spend a day in Taima (Jahra) or Sulaibiya.
-
Footage from a Bidun protest in February allegedly shows government forces using water cannons to disperse protesters. The video is said to be shot in Jahra.
-
تنويه: هذا الفيديو لا يعبر عن رأيي الشخصي، و لا يمثل اي جهة رأي معينه
-
Earlier this month Human Rights Watch released a report examining the status of Bidun in Kuwait.
-
Kuwait has not made good on its decades of promises to address citizenship claims for more than 106,000 stateless Bidun residents, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
-
Blogger Gabriel Helou writes:
-
How can Kuwait – a State that deprives 120 thousand citizens of their civil rights – be elected as member of the Human Rights Council?
-
After the Kuwaiti government failed to follow through on their pledge that improved rights for Biduns would be passed before the March 8 parliamentary session, protests continued.
-
Photos from the online magazine Jadaliyya show protesters waving Kuwaiti flags and various banners. The banner below compares the committee tasked with handling Bidun affairs to Nazis.
-
.jpg "The Bidun of Kuwait: A Look Behind the Laws")
-
Even pets in Kuwait have proper documentation.
-
.jpg "The Bidun of Kuwait: A Look Behind the Laws")
-
In Kuwait, one of the richest countires, you find 7 #Bidoon family members crammed in one room!! @Montheralhabeeb #EQLB #EQLEB
-
A image from a Bidun rights photo campaign reads: "I want to go to school, but I can't. Because they tell me I do not have a birth certificate."
-
On Facebook and Twitter, people sympathetic to the Bidun cause have been flipping their profile pictures and avatars upside down to show their support for progress on the issue. The hashtag #EQLB or "flip" in Arabic was used in the campaign.
-
Flip ur Avatar Show Support #Bidun http://t.co/MdWiNDqاقلب صورتك حملة مستمرة حتى يوم الجمعة تضامنا مع قضية الـ" بدون " الكويت #Kuwait #EQLEB
-
#Kuwaitis to flip their #Facebook pictures in solidarity w the Bedoun (stateless residents)
http://tinyurl.com/3sztqru -
How should the Kuwaiti government handle the Bidun situation? What needs to change? Tell us on Twitter at @AJStream.
Content on this website is for general information purposes only. Your comments are provided by your own free will and you take sole responsibility for any direct or indirect liability. You hereby provide us with an irrevocable, unlimited, and global license for no consideration to use, reuse, delete or publish comments, in accordance with Community Rules & Guidelines and Terms and Conditions.
YOUR VOICES
How would the U.S. State department delisting the MEK as a terrorist organisation affect US-Iran relations? Record a comment for Monday's show!
Record your commentFOLLOW THE STREAM
