By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: Although the concept of stigma has been used to examine the place of various minority populations and women in society, it has not been previously applied to men. Women always demand their rights and call to be heard, but what about men? Kuwait Times spoke to citizens and residents to find out if men are struggling with male stigma.

Ali Al-Fadhli revealed many men feel the unfairness in the community. “Men are not allowed to express themselves — otherwise, they will be called weak or not manly enough,” he said. He indicated men in Kuwait suffer from the injustice of not getting their rights in family law, especially over child custody, saying the law is always with women, even in domestic violence cases, which can also be against men.

Regarding mental health, Fadhli commented men are discouraged by the stigma of getting help for themselves or talking to their loved ones about mental illnesses, explaining that male stigma affects men’s relationship with mental health at social, self, professional and cultural levels.

Tariq Adel told Kuwait Times what all men want is to be left alone. “Most men think that in order to take something, they must earn it. We already know our responsibilities in life. Men in Arab society –most of them – admit we have responsibilities towards our home and our wives in particular, but we are greatly influenced by calls for women’s rights in the West, although women are honored in Islam and the Arab world, unless customs and traditions intervene, due to which there may be some restrictions,” he said.

“I am the kind of man who believes that a man must adopt the general idea of masculinity and express his feelings only at the right time, because when a man’s feelings come out, they betray their sincerity. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) spoke about how men can keep their feelings hidden, how mental health can affect a man, and how it’s difficult for him, given he is supposed to be the strong one for his family,” Adel explained.

Ahmed Essam affirmed that men do not enjoy more rights than woman, because the issue is not one based on quantity, but rather based on the different roles that every member of the family must follow. He pointed out the community must see the full picture and not only at women and what they cannot do, but rather what social and life privileges they have.

“Men have no rights. For me, I want the right to not be involved in the saying that all men are bad. I want the right to access a good and easy life and be allowed to get married without financial burden,” he said.