The Al Sabah family moved from central Arabia and established itself in the town of Kuwait, which is not Kuwait's principal city (Smyth, 1994).
What characterizes the region and, therefore, provides the background for understanding the status and role of women, is its Islamic character and tribal nature. These provide the values and beliefs of the culture. One way that is expressed in society is on limitations on citizenship. Arab countries tend to try to limit those who are considered citizens and have the right to vote. These limits are primarily designed to preserve the status of the tribe and the ruling family (Smyth, 1994).
Until very recently, women's role was exclusively in the home or in the private sphere. Kuwait was an obscure country before the second world war, known primarily for pearl-diving, boat construction, fishing, and some trade. With the discovery of oil reserves, however, and the development of that industry, things changed rapidly.
One of the changes was in the status of women, although that has been a slow process. There is a conflict in Arab countries between the desire to develop the country with the skills and participation of citizens rather than foreigners, and the restrictions within these countries that make foreign labor necessary. Certainly during the early period of development, there were not enough educated people to manage the growing industry. However, the government invested widely in education and the educated population increased rapidly. Still, however, the low participation rates of women in the workforce had an impact, requiring the continued use of foreign labor in upper management. At the other end of the spectrum, migrant laborers, including women, performed many of the menial or blue-collar tasks (Crystal, 1994).
It is also important to recognize that there are divisions among Kuwaiti citizens. The majority of the population is Sunni, which is more conservative tha...