Kuwaiti women are outraged that by allowing women in the military to serve in combat roles, the military has decided they need the permission of a male guardian and banned them from carrying weapons,  AFP reported.

Activists described the policy as "one step forward, two steps back" after the defence ministry also decided that women in the armed forces, unlike civilians, should wear head coverings.

The moves sparked a negative reaction online in Kuwait, which is generally considered one of the most open societies in the Gulf.

“I don’t know why there are these restrictions to join the army,” said Ghadeer al-Khashti, a sports teacher and member of Kuwait Football Association’s women committee.

“My mum during the Iraqi invasion used to hide weapons under her abaya and transport them to members of Kuwait’s resistance, and my father encouraged it,” said Khashti.

Kuwaiti women won the right to vote in 2005 and have been active in both the cabinet and parliament, although they are poorly represented in both.

This month dozens of Kuwaiti women staged a protest against the suspension of a women’s yoga retreat deemed “indecent” by conservatives. One of those conservatives was Azmi, who in Twitter posts denounced the retreat as “dangerous” and “alien to our conservative society”.

The debate over new army rules for women has taken an irrational turn, said Ibtihal al-Khatib, an English professor at Kuwait University. The army needs to integrate both women and men without discrimination. Danger does not differentiate between men and women, and neither does death during battle.”