On Apr. 20, the bleeding body of a young woman was found in front of Al-Adan Hospital in Kuwait. According to the Ministry of Interior of Kuwait, the victim was kidnapped and taken to an unknown location. Shortly after the authorities were notified, the hospital reported the victim had passed away. A search team assembled to arrest the suspect uncovered the perpetrator who later admitted to stabbing the young woman in the chest.

The attacker was identified as 30-year-old Fahad Subhi Mohammed, who allegedly committed the murder because the victim, 32-year-old Farah Akbar and her family, refused his marriage proposal. According to the victim’s sister Dana Akbar, Mohammed had threatened the family previously, leading them to file two harassment cases against him, one for attempted murder and the other for kidnapping.

In a video that went viral last week, Dana Akbar described how the family’s attempts to report Mohammed’s threats were met with mostly dead ends as Mohammed was released on bail days after being detained for those two filed cases.

“I begged them not to release him as this man was going to kill us, he had been threatening us, my sister and I. But it was as if we weren’t talking at all.” recalled Dana Akbar. She added that no one took their concerns seriously and the judge dismissed the danger that the family felt they were in.

According to Al Qabas, Mohammed has since been charged with first-degree murder. The crime carries a maximum punishment of a death sentence, but a final verdict is yet to be reached.

Abkar’s murder sparked outrage, raising questions and demands for more safety and legislative protection for women, particularly as this is one of many incidences of violence against women in Kuwait. Phrases such as “Am I Next?” and “Women’s Funeral” were used in trending posts and on signs as women began to gather in condolence and protest, both physically and virtually.

Kuwaiti and Khaleeji influencers used their platforms to raise more awareness on what happened. [Ascia Al Faraj] (https://www.instagram.com/p/CODR4wsHbR3/?igshid=1v8iv19zr4yih) stood with a sign that said “it started with harassment and ended with murder”. [Ala Bayad] (https://www.instagram.com/tv/CODM3jzg6DI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link) posted a video in which she and a few women voiced their responses. The women discussed how the first instinct of the community should not be to find reasons to blame the victim but rather to ask “Why did no one protect her?”

“It makes me sick to my stomach knowing that she reported him before he actually murdered her. The system literally failed her. May she rest in peace.” commented Futaim Bani Malek, Class of 2023 and a UAE national.

Others in Kuwait stood in protest outside of the National Assembly. The location of this protest was notable, since there are no women currently serving in Kuwait’s National Assembly as the last female MP lost her seat in the most recent election. Some expressed grief over a lack of representation in the council.

Legislation in Kuwait has made a few developments with regards to women’s protection, with a new law passed in 2020 that promises to shelter and provide free legal aid to victims of domestic abuse. However, the discussions that emerged from this case are around abolishing article 153, which treats honor killings as misdemeanors, punishable by three years in prison and a fine of KD14 (170.76 AED). The head of women and family affairs, Osama AlShaheen, presented a bill alongside other parliament members to abolish this law, often referred to as the honor killings law.