Maha and Hajer: The Price of Gender Non-conformity in Kuwait

This thesis’s focus is the amendment of Article 198 of Kuwait’s criminal law in 2007. The amendment has been criminalizing “imitating the opposite sex” since 2007. The researcher presents to the reader the Article in question and its effects on transgender people. This thesis goes in depth and present to the reader two different stories about Maha Al Mutairi and Hajer Al Assi, two transgender individuals. The thesis is divided into different sections that discuss the amendment and the stories of Maha and Hajer. It also contains sections that discuss and explore Islam’s point of view on transitioning, the work of Lawyer Ali Al Aryan on abolishing the amendment, Kuwaiti culture’s view on cross dressing and transitioning, and the new medical law that allows transitioning in Kuwait under specific rules. This thesis’s aim and objective is to bring to light the stories of transgender and gender non-conforming people to light. And to ask the question of to which extent does the Kuwaiti state polices sex and gender.