ges the abuse of females (Lombardi 3). According to the US Department of State's "Kuwait Report on Human Rights Practices for 1997," there is a high level of marital abuse, reaching an estimated figure of 15% of all Kuwaiti wives. The report concludes that the Kuwaiti legal system encourages such abuse in that it fails to punish those husbands found guilty of such a practice (Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor 9-10). This is not true as wife abuse is illegal in Kuwait, according to Quranic law which prohibits all form of violence against the female, whether it is physical or even verbal ("An Islamic Perspective On Violence Against Women" 1). That the process of punishment of abusive husband differs in Kuwait than in the West doesn't mean that the law supports abuse. In Kuwait, unless the abused wife explicitly requests immediate legal action, the police attempt to settle such disputes out of court, with the "offending spouse to sign a statement affirming that he will end the abuse" (Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor 1). Arrangements are then made for both the husband and the wife to receive psychiatric treatment in order to direct them on how to settle differences without any violence. Such treatments are also intended to help the wife overcome the negative psychological consequences of abuse (Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor 1). If another complaint is made, then legal action is taken to punish the husband. As far as Western human rights organizations are concerned, attempts to settle disputes between husbands and wives out of court show a careless legal attitude towards violence against women. This is not at all true, but legal punishment is treated as the last option as Islam first advises the peaceful settlement of disputes between married couples, in an attempt to prevent the escalation of the situation to divorce. The failure of the West to unders...