Kuwait is a country in Western Asia. Situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, it borders Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south.
Kuwait in the early 1960s
In the 1960s and 1970s, Kuwait was considered the most developed country in the region. It was the pioneer in the Middle East in diversifying its earnings away from oil exports. Kuwait University was established in 1966. Kuwait’s theatre industry was well known throughout the Arab world.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Kuwait’s press was described as one of the freest in the world. Kuwait was the pioneer in the literary renaissance in the Arab region. In 1958, Al-Arabi magazine was first published. The magazine went on to become the most popular magazine in the Arab world. Many Arab writers moved to Kuwait because they enjoyed greater freedom of expression than elsewhere in the Arab world.
Kuwaiti society embraced liberal and non-traditional attitudes throughout the 1960s and 1970s. For example, most Kuwaiti women did not wear the hijab in the 1960s and 70s.
These amazing color photos were taken by Verity Cridland’s mother that show everyday life of Kuwait from 1960 to 1962.
‘Ladies Street’ in the suq
A demonstration of loyalty to Kuwait and anger at the invasion by Khassim (Iraq)
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