‘Al Mulayah’ (in old Kuwait) was a teacher who taught young girls math, reading and writing as well as other subjects. — KUNA

KUWAIT: In old Kuwait, women used to (as they do nowadays) be men's partners in bearing the burdens of life through the picking up of simple professions. Professions practiced by women at that time were simple, as they needed minimum craftsmanship and physical skills, in addition to a fair level of literacy and memorization of the Quran. In this context, Kuwaiti Heritage researcher Adel Al-Abdulmughni said yesterday that most of those rackets practiced in the past as a source of income. The Kuwaiti society back then was self-sufficient and its people practiced all kinds of professions without feeling ashamed, he noted.

Women took up some professions to meet the need of the community; for example, the 'braids maker', who as the name suggests, braided girls and women's long hair. Another job was the 'matchmaker'; an older woman whose main job is to help men find a suitable wife, where the families of both the man and intended wife pay her should the marriage takes place. Even in the more conservative society, Kuwaiti Bedouin women were involved in earning a living through their skills in Sadu knitting. Sadu knitting is one of the oldest traditional crafts practiced by Bedouin women to provide basic needs for living in the desert. - KUNA