Kuwait to give each unemployed housewife aged 55, Dh7,250 per month

Kuwait has decided to lavish KD559 (Dh7,250) a month to each unemployed housewife aged at least 55 years even if her husband is rich within a new social security law that also includes a massive increase in aid for divorced women.

About 7,000 women in the oil-rich Gulf emirate have already applied to benefit from the windfall and only 10 per cent of the applications were rejected as they are employed.

“The new law will be issued next week. Each housewife aged at least 55 years will be eligible for the aid provided she does not have a job,” said Muneera Al Fadli, an assistant undersecretary at the Kuwait Ministry of Social Affairs.

“The aid will benefit only women who do not have another source of income even if their husbands are rich. We will begin disbursing funds on Monday.”

She said the new law also includes a 50 per cent increase in rent allocations for divorced women to become KD150 a month instead of KD100 while divorced women with at least five children will be paid KD900 (Dh11,700) a month.

“These are but a few examples of what this law includes. It has many benefits that will support all the needy Kuwaitis,” she said.

Kuwait, a key OPEC oil producer, is one of the richest nations by GDP per capita while its sovereign wealth fund is one of the world’s largest government investment bodies.
The country, which pumps over 2.5 million bpd of crude oil, is one of a few nations that have set up a fund for the future generations.

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