E/CN.4/2000/65 page 18 these groups (such as the Charismatic Evangelical Church of Christ and Jehovah’s Witnesses) through the harassment of their members and/or the denial of registration. Two women lecturers at the University of Taraz were reportedly moved to lower positions because they had converted from Islam to Christianity and because their beliefs were regarded as not being in keeping with the State ideology; they were allegedly warned that their contracts would not be renewed. A draft bill by the Ministry of Culture, Information and Social Affairs was said to be designed to strengthen State control over the activities of non-traditional religious associations: one provision prohibited independent publications and proselytizing activities by foreign religious organizations. A variety of grounds for a court to suspend the activities of religious associations was also proposed. The wording, i.e. “to cause harm … to the morals and the health of citizens”, “coercion leading to the destruction of the family”, was, however, said to be vague. Kuwait 61. Despite some progress with regard to women’s rights, women were said to be adversely affected by certain laws based on religious criteria. They reportedly suffered discrimination in the following respects: the consent of the husband was compulsory if the wife sought to obtain a passport; marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men was prohibited; and, in the Islamic courts, the testimony of one man was equivalent to that of two women. 62. Kuwait replied: “The competent Kuwaiti authorities first wish to stress that Kuwaiti society, whose foundations are built on justice and equality, firmly rejects all forms of discrimination and segregation and does not discriminate between men and women, who enjoy the same rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. Article 7 of the Constitution makes the principle of equality one of the basic foundations of Kuwaiti society, article 29 provides that all men are equal in dignity and the preamble makes equality one of the basic pillars of Kuwaiti society. With regard to allegations that provisions of the legislation of the State of Kuwait involve discrimination against women, namely, that the testimony of one man is equivalent to that of two women, and that marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men is prohibited, the Kuwaiti authorities wish to state that these precepts are based on the provisions of the noble Islamic Sharia, which is one of the main sources of legislation. Thus, article 2 of the Kuwaiti Constitution provides that: ‘The State religion is Islam and the Sharia one of the main sources of legislation’. Kuwait is guided by the Sharia and draws inspiration from its provisions in the laws it enacts in all areas relating to the rights and duties of the members of the Muslim community, as is the case in all Islamic States. With regard to the fact that the testimony of one man is equivalent of that of two women, this principle is applicable not in all cases, but in certain specific situations provided for in Islamic legislation, which does not make any distinction between the testimony of a man and that of a woman in civil, commercial and criminal law matters. The prohibition on marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men reflects the wisdom of Islamic legislation, based on the fact that men are the guardians of women and their offspring and taking account of the details given in the texts of the fiqh (Islamic writings). The requirement that women have to have their husbands’ consent to obtain a passport confirms the need to protect the family and safeguard its structures in accordance with the provisions of the Sharia.”