Lawyer Monthly Magazine - March 2020 Edition

foreign startups and international business relations. Tackling gender stereotypes in Kuwait and law I recently gave a TEDx talk discussing stereotyping of Women; stereotyping is a frequent challenge limiting the options and dreams of young women everywhere. It reduces their confidence to step up to careers and positions they are qualified for and capable of. The first step to making cultural changes is promoting legal reform and I am currently working with the World Bank to do just that. I am passionate about motivating young people to reach for their dreams. As a lecturer, I see the creativity, insight and innovation with which young people approach global problem-solving. All of my articles and talks work to encourage organisations and businesses to invest in our youth and give them opportunities to lead and make a real difference. Women make up half of our global population; we lack half of society’s perspective, innovation and skills if they are not represented in top positions of law, business and leadership. We need equal representation and we need to encourage young people, and young women, in particular, to step up. LM show how we can all make small changes to have a positive impact. Kuwait has a great investment potential for international business, but I feel there is caution with international investors regarding the Arab World and ease of business. I feel that to remain successful, Kuwait needs to diversify its economy, which is something that has been touched on in Vision 2035. What is Vision 2035? Kuwait’s Emir, Sabah al-Ahmad al- Jaber al-Sabah GCB (Hon), is working to diversify and strengthen Kuwait’s economic competitiveness by boosting the private industry and reducing legal red tape through legal reform. The country is making strong head-way speeding up business and property registration, cheaper energy and making the economic environment generally more inviting to outside investors. Confronting foreign investors’ misconceptions about Islamic law I think many smaller businesses have incorrect conceptions about Shari’a Law and assume it may negatively impact business, for example, in the case of interest and loans. They are unaware that many Arab countries have a Civil Code based on the French system and are, therefore, very familiar to EU businesses. The Commercial Code takes a pragmatic view of lending money, an essential part of business. Kuwait, in particular, has also been making many changes to its Commerical Code to facilitate 45 MAR 2020 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM An Interview With As an Assistant professor of Law at Kuwait University and an Advisor to the Kuwait Government, I am committed to the importance of law and justice, particularly in the Middle East. A professor’s role, asboth teacher and researcher, is an honour. I believe it is also a responsibility to empower and inspire others; to use my position as an educator, as an adviser, lawyer and as a young, female voice to represent an authentic Kuwaiti female experience; to show difficulties we face, but the successes that women can achieve regardless. I strive to show how improving equality in Kuwait, and empowering our youth to lead and bring fresh ideas, we can strengthen our economy. I work hard to promote a modern, enlightened standpoint on major legal and humanitarian issues. From an early age, travelling extensively and studying abroad, I have embraced the importance of internationalism: I am now an active international, award- winning, conference and public events speaker. International Muslim Personality of the year 2020 as well as media presence and writer. Dr. Bashayer AlMajed