Kuwait’s #MeToo moment: Women denounce harassment, violence

Lan Asket campaign founders Lina al-Qaddoumi, Najeeba Hayat, Shayma Shamo and Ascia al-Faraj, stand beside Abdulaziz al-Saqabi, one of the Kuwaiti politicians who has proposed an amendment to the penal code to define and punish sexual harassment. Pic/AFP

Abrar Zenkawi was cruising towards the beach in Kuwait City when she saw a man smiling in her rear view mirror. Elsewhere, this may have been a benign highway flirtation. But in Kuwait, it's a haunting routine that often turns dangerous. The man pulled up beside her, inched closer and finally drove into her. Zenkawi's car, carrying her toddler nieces, sister and friend, flipped six times. "Men chase girls, follow them to work, just for fun," said Zenkawi, who spent months in the hospital with a shattered spine.

But that may be changing as women are increasingly challenging Kuwait's deeply patriarchal society. The spark may have come from fashion blogger Ascia al-Faraj, who vented in January on Snapchat to her millions of followers after being hounded by a man in a speeding car. Shayma Shamo, a 27-year-old doctor, sought to seize the momentum, creating an Instagram page called "Lan Asket," Arabic for "I will not be silent."

As the movement gained steam, lawmakers scrambled to respond. Seven politicians have submitted amendments to the penal code that would define and punish sexual harassment.

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