Stateless (bidoon) children in Kuwait and the right to education

Abstract

In international law, a stateless person is one that is "not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law". According to the UN Higher Commission for Refugees, there are more than 10 million stateless people around the world. In Kuwait, a country of four million people there are almost 110,000 stateless people, and only 31% of the population enjoy the full array of generous benefits that come with citizenship rights. In Kuwait, people without a nationality are known as Bidoon, which literally means “without.” This research seeks to investigate the history of the Bidoon in Kuwait, particularly in relation to social policies and access to education. It also aims to better understand how families with the status of statelessness navigate their lives and provide education and opportunities for their children. My goal is to shed light on the lived experiences of Bidoon children and families, and to propose political and policy solutions to the problems around educational access, legal status, and the rights of Bidoon children.