Lady in White

Upon the increasing awareness of the need for professional unions and consolidating bodies, and with the recent birth of “Kuwait Health United in North America”, the new institution that recently gathered under it’s wing many post graduate physicians and dentists residing in North America, I find it essential to start by pointing out for those who don’t know me, and before they judge me with the contrary, that I’ve historically been and continue to be a furious advocate for women’s rights, and have always favoured the policy of helping our female partner in life help her self rather than the throw of my leftovers for her to pick up and yet expect her to be thrilled about.

Having said that, I believe there is one area that appears to need work most, and that is the Kuwaiti female doctor spirit. I could not help but notice their repeated quantity, or the lack of it, and more importantly quality of contribution that has historically been extremely modest, to say the very least. And here I am referring to the collective quality and quantity of comments by many of our dear lady doctors and sisters and along the years and in many of the other larger e-mail groups that preceded the birth of the new union. And here again I am referring to the quality of intellectual contribution rather than the odd ” GOD bless you for your work”, the “we’re behind you all the way”, and the “add my name brother” e-mails that appeared sporadically here and there. That while keeping an open and watching eye on the rapidly and thrillingly evolving Saudi and rest of Arab Gulf state female doctors and their public and professional engagement I am encountering in this part of the world.

This has also paralleled my general impression of the Kuwaiti woman’s modest political performance in the recently developed political scene in Kuwait, although not necessarily true in the public one, where she has always appeared to have maintained a competitive equal to her man counterpart, which is fine, but in a highly selected female population as in the medical profession in North America, I find her public intellectual absence adverse to her cause, and I honestly don’t see how many are going to survive the professional yet alone political Kuwaiti arena.