| Kuwait's women played significant roles inside their country in resisting the Iraqi regime and outside their country in campaigning to end the occupation.
They were a driving force in Kuwait’s liberation through their high level of participation on most FKC committees and in demonstrations and other events. That women were sometimes the standard-bearers in the major marches was symbolic of their commitment and activism.
They also organized committees mainly or exclusively for women.
Under the Kuwaiti High Committee's auspices, the Women's Committee was set up soon after the invasion to develop activities for women and children. On November 2, the Committee held a large exhibition to support Kuwaiti families in financial need mainly by selling women’s handicrafts, Kuwaiti collectibles, prepared foods, herbs, literature, and music tapes. The event included performances by girls, an art contest for children, a photo display, and refreshments. Well-known Kuwaitis took part as both sellers and buyers.
Independent of this committee, Najla Al-Naqi issued the Sawt Al-Mar'a Kuwaitiyah [Voice of Kuwaiti Women] newsletter. From the Kuwaiti Embassy via satellite, she aided in broadcasting into Kuwait and in monitoring messages from Kuwait. These communications yielded valuable intelligence about the situation inside the homeland and helped comfort families with news of the whereabouts and welfare of loved ones. Al-Naqi also formed her own Kuwaiti Women’s Association to publicize the Kuwaiti cause through street marches and to raise funds for war victims through a charity bazaar.
|
|
The Kuwaiti-British Friendship Committee was mainly for Kuwaiti women, but it had one key British male member, John Lewinton, who had been a hideaway in Kuwait. The idea for forming the K-BFC came from Seham Al-Marzouq, a member of the Kuwaiti High Committee and the Media Committee, and it was started and run by Mona Taleb and Amina Al-Mulaifi. Its purpose was contact with the families of British soldiers, sailors, and air force personnel deployed in the Gulf. K-BFC members enlightened families about the issues that their loved ones were being asked to fight for. After the British hideaways and hostages were released in mid-December, these ex-pats assisted this effort by describing conditions they had witnessed in Kuwait during the occupation.
During and after the Gulf War, members visited the British wounded and attended memorial services in Glasgow and London.
The K-BFC continued its work in Kuwait through the end of 1992. It sponsored visits to Kuwait each time of 100 British family members who had lost a relative in the Gulf War. The K-BFC disbanded when funding could not be obtained from the government or other sources.
The K-BFC was also known as the BKFFA, British-Kuwaiti Forces & Families Association.
Yet another significant service performed by FKC women was to go to Kuwait immediately after liberation to join the Red Crescent Society. |
