University of British Columbia Peter Wall Institute of Advanced Studies PHYSICAL CULTURE, POWER, AND THE BODY

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PHYSICAL CULTURE, POWER, AND FEMALE BODIES IN KUWAIT: THE CONTROLLING TRIO OF ISLAM, PATRIARCHY, AND THE STATE

Jennifer Hargreaves & Guanima Al Haadir

Abstract: Physical Culture, Power and Female Bodies in Kuwait: The Controlling Trio of Islam, Patriarchy and the State - Guanima Al-Hairdar and Jennifer Hargreaves The specific relationships between the personal female body and the social body in Kuwait influence opportunities for and resourcing of physical culture. But in order to understand the specific experiences that Kuwaiti women have of physical culture it is not only the relationship between Islam and the state that is significant and needs investigation, but also the intimate links between that relationship and patriarchy. To add to the complexity the unstable link between local and global influences and cultures is also important. This study investigates the specifically Muslim context of Kuwait and all its western assumptions about the controlling influences of Islam and tradition, about the role of women and about the possibilities for and barriers to participation in various forms of physical culture. It addresses such questions as, How can doctrinaire conservative Islamic codes of behavior co-exist with liberal attitudes toward the female body? To what extent and in what ways do Kuwaiti women have control over their bodies in physical culture; to what extent are they active subjects? The voices of Kuwaiti women themselves and their feelings and understandings about the usages of the female body and the importance of female physical culture will be an important feature of this chapter.